Time Equals Longitude
Since the Earth rotates at a steady rate of 360° per day, or 15° per hour (in mean solar time), there is a direct relationship between time and longitude. If the navigator knew the time at a fixed reference point when some event occurred at the ship's location, the difference between the reference time and the apparent local time would give the ship's position relative to the fixed location. Finding apparent local time is relatively easy. The problem, ultimately, was how to determine the time at a distant reference point while on a ship.
Read more about this topic: History Of Longitude
Famous quotes containing the words time and/or equals:
“I’ve no time now, but believe me as surely as the moon will set and the sun will rise I shall kill you tomorrow night. I shall kill you even if you hide in the deepest cave of the earth. At ten o’clock tomorrow night, I shall kill you.”
—R.C. Sherriff (1896–1975)
“If A is a success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut.”
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)