Cartersiano e o Galileu
A facilidade e precisão GPS que lhe aponta para onde está e o manda cortar à direita, à esquerda ou seguir em frente, para chegar ao seu destino, não lhe deixa espaço para imaginar a difficuldade que os nossos antepassados tinham em se dirigir sobretudo nos mares.
A processo de calcular a Latitude tinha sido decoberto, mas faltava descobrir como calcular a Longitude, essa linha imaginária que se iria cruzar com a linha da Latitude, cujo ponto de interceção seria o local onde você se encontrava.
Então o Governo Inglês lançou a concurso o processo de descoberta da Longitude, cujo vencedor ganharia um fabuloso prémio. Poderão ler no artigo seguinte na Wikipedia que o prémio foi atribuído à melhor invenção, ao cronómetro do relojoeiro de Yorkshire, John Harrison.
Obviamente que outros países, tais como a Espanha e a Holanda também tinham oferecido prémios para o mesmo efeito.
Poderá ver isto tudo e muito mais no Royal Observatory, numa das mais lindas áreas da capital britânica, Greenwich (pronuncie /grénêtx/), onde poderão ver em pessoa o Meridiano de Greenwich, o fuso horário Zero.
A Leste deste fuso é obviamente mais tarde, porque o Sol chega lá primeiro, e a Oeste será mais tarde, obviously. Lisboa situa-se neste fuso, portanto tem a mesma hora de Londres. Este observatório é interessantíssimo e situa-se no topo de uma colina, cercado por imenso, lindíssimo e saudável jardim.
Visite também o Cutty Sark, veleiro da marinha mercante, o qual também esteve ao serviço de Portugal. Depois, mais abaixo, atravesse o Tamisa a pé por um túnel, um deafio de engenheria. "The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Sir Alexander Binnie[3]" e construído pelo empreiteiro John Cochrane & Co de 1899 a 1902 quando foi aberto à população.
Ainda há muitinha que não sabe que existe ali um túnel para você atravessar o rio. Há certa humidade que transpira pelas paredes, mas não se preocupe porque a água ainda tem de bater ali muito para furar aquilo. Obviamente que há ali inspeção frequente e reparações de consolidação.
Obviamente que outros países, tais como a Espanha e a Holanda também tinham oferecido prémios para o mesmo efeito.
Poderá ver isto tudo e muito mais no Royal Observatory, numa das mais lindas áreas da capital britânica, Greenwich (pronuncie /grénêtx/), onde poderão ver em pessoa o Meridiano de Greenwich, o fuso horário Zero.
A Leste deste fuso é obviamente mais tarde, porque o Sol chega lá primeiro, e a Oeste será mais tarde, obviously. Lisboa situa-se neste fuso, portanto tem a mesma hora de Londres. Este observatório é interessantíssimo e situa-se no topo de uma colina, cercado por imenso, lindíssimo e saudável jardim.
Visite também o Cutty Sark, veleiro da marinha mercante, o qual também esteve ao serviço de Portugal. Depois, mais abaixo, atravesse o Tamisa a pé por um túnel, um deafio de engenheria. "The tunnel was designed by civil engineer Sir Alexander Binnie[3]" e construído pelo empreiteiro John Cochrane & Co de 1899 a 1902 quando foi aberto à população.
Ainda há muitinha que não sabe que existe ali um túnel para você atravessar o rio. Há certa humidade que transpira pelas paredes, mas não se preocupe porque a água ainda tem de bater ali muito para furar aquilo. Obviamente que há ali inspeção frequente e reparações de consolidação.
A razão deste artigo deve-se ao facto de a Inglaterra ir atribuir um prémio 10 milhões de libras esterlinas a quem ganhar outro desafio -- um dos maiores problemas que a humanidede enfrenta presentemnete --- o qual irá ser brevemente escolhido e anunciado. Mantenham-se atentos.
Longitude prize (in Wikipedia)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Longitude Prize was a reward offered by the British government for a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude. The prize, established through an Act of Parliament (the Longitude Act) in 1714, was administered by the Board of Longitude. It was eventually awarded in 1765 to John Harrison for his chronometer.
This was by no means the first such prize to be offered. Philip II of Spain offered a prize in 1567, Philip III in 1598 offered 6,000 ducats and a pension,[1] whilst the States-General of the Netherlands offered 10,000 florins.[2] But these large prizes were never won, though several people were awarded smaller sums to continue their research.
Contents
The problem of longitude
The measurement of longitude was a problem that came into sharp focus as people began making transoceanic voyages. Determining latitude was relatively easy in that it could be found from the altitude of the sun at noon with the aid of a table giving the sun's declination for the day.[3]
For longitude, early ocean navigators had to rely on dead reckoning.
This was inaccurate on long voyages out of sight of land and these
voyages sometimes ended in tragedy. Finding an adequate solution to
determining longitude was of paramount importance.
For details on many of the other efforts towards determining the longitude, see History of longitude.
Prizes offered
The main longitude prizes were:
- £10,000 for a method that could determine longitude within 60 nautical miles (111 km)
- £15,000 for a method that could determine longitude within 40 nautical miles (74 km)
- £20,000 for a method that could determine longitude within 30 nautical miles (56 km).
In addition, the Board had the discretion to make awards to persons
who were making significant contributions to the effort or to provide
ongoing financial support to those who were working productively towards
the solution. The Board could also make advances of up to £2,000 for
experimental work deemed promising.[4]
As a result of the disputes and changes in the rules (legislated or
otherwise) for the prize, no one was deemed qualified for any of the
official prizes. None of the major prizes were ever awarded.
19 May 2014 Last updated at 02:03
John Harrison's H4 "pocket watch" was the winner of the original Longitude Prize
It took decades of work before John Harrison was finally awarded the prize
Longitude Prize to be launched with £10m awaiting winner
John Harrison's H4 "pocket watch" was the winner of the original Longitude Prize
A £10m prize is being launched to solve one of the greatest scientific problems facing the world today.
The competition idea is based on the 1714 Longitude Prize, which was won by John Harrison. His clocks enabled sailors to pinpoint their position at sea for the first time.
In an updated version, the public will be asked to choose a new challenge.
Six potential categories will be announced, ranging from healthcare to the environment.
After a special 50th anniversary edition of the BBC science series Horizon on Thursday, the public will be able to cast their vote on the issue that they would most like to see tackled.
Geoff Mulgan, chief executive of the charity Nesta, which is looking after the prize, said: "If you want to solve a scientific problem, one method is to go to top universities and top scientists and ask them to solve it.
"But over the years, and this was something pioneered by the Longitude Prize in the 18th Century, it's often better to open it up to anyone to come up with a solution."
It took decades of work before John Harrison was finally awarded the prize
The original £20,000 prize was set by the British government to solve the most vexing issue of the 18th Century: how to determine a ship's longitude at sea.
For sailors to pinpoint their position on the waves, they required two clocks: one that was set each day, using the the height of the sun in the sky, and another that kept the time back at port.
The problem with the latter was that the pitch and roll of the oceans, and the humidity and temperature changes at sea would damage the delicate mechanisms of a timepiece.
But Mr Harrison, a clockmaker from Yorkshire, created a chronometer that overcame these problems.
It took several prototypes and decades of battling with the scientific elite before he was finally deemed the winner. His work revolutionised navigation and saved countless lives.
Now, 300 years later, a new challenge is being launched.
Nesta and the government-funded Technology Strategy Board are offering £10m for a solution to the biggest scientific problem of our time.
The categories from which "the problem" will be chosen will be announced on Monday. These themes have been been selected by a Longitude Committee, chaired by the English Astronomer Royal, Prof Sir Martin Rees, after widespread consultation with experts across various fields.
Each category will be examined in the Horizon programme to be broadcast on BBC Two at 2100 on Thursday. After that, a public vote will be opened, with a favoured theme to be announced on 25 June.
Experts will then convene to refine the details of the challenge, with anyone from around the world able to submit their solution.
Mr Mulgan said: "We're going to set a very precise measurement of what will count as eligibility for winning the prize.
"The prize will only be awarded when someone can demonstrate that their invention actually meets those criteria."
He said that it could be several years before a winner is decided.
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