Quo Vadis: Evolution of Modern Navigation

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Navigation in Nature

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 1-22

3. Early Navigators

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 23-45

4. Historical Background to Astronomy

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 47-67

5. Elements of Modern Astronomy

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 69-91

6. Navigation at Sea

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 93-112

7. The Longitude Problem

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 113-129

8. The Quartz Revolution

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 131-150

9. The Classical Atomic Clocks

   • F. G. Major

   Pages 151-180

10. Atomic and Molecular Oscillators

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 181-202

11. Field Confinement of Ions

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 203-223

12. Optical Frequency Oscillators: Lasers

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 225-258

13. The Mechanical Gyrocompass

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 259-285

14. Radio Navigation

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 287-309

15. Navigation by Satellite: The Space Segment

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 311-331

16. Navigation by Satellite: Control Segment

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 333-348

17. Satellite Navigation: The User Segment

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 349-366

18. Navigation in Space

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 367-385

19. The Future of Navigation

    • F. G. Major

    Pages 387-414

20. Back Matter

    Pages 415-426

    PDF

Quo Vadis: Evolution of Modern Navigation presents an intelligent and intelligible account of the essential principles underlying the design of satellite navigational systems—with introductory chapters placing them in context with the early development of navigational methods. The material is organized roughly as follows: the first third of the book deals with navigation in the natural world, the early history of navigation, navigating by the stars, precise mechanical chronometers for the determination of longitude at sea, and the development of precise quartz controlled clocks. Then, the reader is introduced to quantum ideas as a lead in to a discussion of microwave and optical interactions with atoms, atomic clocks, laser gyrocompasses, and time based navigation. The final third of the book deals with satellite-based systems, including orbit theory, early satellite navigation systems, and a detailed treatment of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Intended for non-specialists with some knowledge of physics or engineering at the college level, this book covers in an intuitive manner a broad range of topics relevant to the evolution of surface and space navigation, with minimum mathematical formalism.

• Ancient mariners
• Atomic clocks
• Fouad Major
• GPS Satellite Orbital parameters
• GPS book
• Geodesy book
• Geodetics book
• Land-based navigational networks
• Navigation Satellite constellations
• Star navigation
• Time-based navigation

From the reviews:

“The book documents well the tremendous advances in navigation from the time of the Phoenicians and provides a good review of how navigation has evolved in nature … and in human exploration. Major explains the workings of the instrumentation that scientists and engineers invented for this purpose. … The book contains good references and illustrations … . Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduate students.” (N. Sadanand, Choice, Vol. 51 (9), May, 2014)

• Severna Park, USA

  F. G. Major

Dr Fouad Major was a student of Hans Georg Dehmelt, Nobel Prize winner (with Ramsey) in 1989, and was the first physicist to proves experimentally the capability of an atomic clock with ions stocked in a radio-electric quadripolar trap. He is an expert on atomic clocks and author of The Quantum Beat (Springer, 2007).

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