Orreries, Clocks, and London Society
The Evolution of Astronomical Instruments and Their Makers
Authors: Buick, Tony
Free Preview- Explores the fascinating history of clockmaking and orreries
- Paints a vivid picture of London science and society
- Includes new sections on planetariums and orreries in education
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- About this book
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Orreries—mechanical models of the Solar System and its motions—are found everywhere. They appear in paintings, on computers, across natural landscapes, and in museums all over the world. The more you look, the more you find, yet their significance is often overlooked aside other great astronomical inventions.
This book reclaims the history of the orrery, offering a fascinating look into its evolution over the centuries. With a particular focus on London society and clockmakers, it weaves together historical narrative with practical know-hows and scientific fact, showing how the orrery changed from a fanciful toy to a high-tech instrument to a vessel for art and education.
The first edition, Orrery, explained what an orrery is and how it got its name. This revised edition goes several steps further, tracing the instrument back to the time of Ptolemy and forward to planetariums and star projectors. In addition, it features new sections on how to construct your own orrery at home.
This book will appeal to anybody interested in astronomical mechanical devices, scientific instruments, horology, or the history of clocks.
- About the authors
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Dr. Tony Buick is a chemist by profession and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. In the area of amateur astronomy, he has contributed to Sky at Night, MENSA, the Society for Popular Astronomy and various other magazines and journals. Upon his retirement, Dr. Buick returned to his lifelong interest in astronomy, prompting the research that forms the foundation of this book. He has a wide range of interests, from the infinite— through a telescope—to the infinitesimal—through a microscope—and has in addition to his astronomy work published articles on tardigrades, robust microscopic animals that can even survive in space.
- Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Setting the Scene
Pages 1-52
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Honest George, Chronometers and the Mystery of the Disappearing Proto-Orreries
Pages 53-96
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Orrery: The Man and the Model
Pages 97-154
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A Closer Look at Gear Calculations, Time Corrections, Escapements and Orbital Resonance
Pages 155-221
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The Clockmaker’s London
Pages 223-270
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- Orreries, Clocks, and London Society
- Book Subtitle
- The Evolution of Astronomical Instruments and Their Makers
- Authors
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- Tony Buick
- Series Title
- Astronomers' Universe
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Springer International Publishing
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Nature Switzerland AG
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-030-61777-6
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-61777-6
- Softcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-61776-9
- Series ISSN
- 1614-659X
- Edition Number
- 2
- Number of Pages
- XXVII, 348
- Number of Illustrations
- 167 b/w illustrations, 88 illustrations in colour
- Topics
