Reflecting Instrument
Reflecting instruments are those that use mirrors to enhance their ability to make measurements. In particular, the use of mirrors permits one to observe two objects simultaneously while measuring the angular distance between the objects. While they are used in many professions, they are primarily associated with celestial navigation, as the need to solve navigation problems, in particular the problem of the longitude, was the primary motivation in their development.
Read more about Reflecting Instrument: Objectives of The Instruments, Early Reflecting Instruments, The Octant, The Sextant, Types of Sextants
Famous quotes containing the words reflecting and/or instrument:
“Any one reflecting upon the thought he has of the delight, which any present or absent thing is apt to produce in him, has the idea we call love.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“Reason is man’s faculty for grasping the world by thought, in contradiction to intelligence, which is man’s ability to manipulate the world with the help of thought. Reason is man’s instrument for arriving at the truth, intelligence is man’s instrument for manipulating the world more successfully; the former is essentially human, the latter belongs to the animal part of man.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)