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Title
The magnetic declination: a history of the compass / Moiara Mandea.
ISBN
9783031094767 (electronic bk.)
303109476X (electronic bk.)
3031094751
9783031094750
Publication Details
Cham, Switzerland : Springer, 2022.
Language
English
Description
1 online resource.
Item Number
10.1007/978-3-031-09476-7 doi
Call Number
QC849
Dewey Decimal Classification
522/.7
Summary
This book aims then to describe in a comprehensible way efforts made over centuries of measuring and understanding the magnetic declination. The book also highlights some important characteristics of the Earths magnetic field thanks to the declination measurements. Some applications and societal implications are also underlined. Anyone living in the 21st century knows the best way to navigate is by using a smartphone App. Decades and centuries ago, in order to find the same way a magnificent instrument was used: the compass. Despite many being aware of the compass, not everyone appreciates that throughout the ages of exploration, sailors and explorers linked their lives and great discoveries to the magnetic needle. Furthermore, is there an awareness of the Earths physical mechanism behind the changes in time and space of the direction indicated by the compass? The magnetic declination is at the center of this book and it helps the reader to understand how to navigate in time and space. The book provides the history of the compass and magnetic declination leading the reader to the understanding of our magnetic planet. This book is designed for those who are fascinated by the long history of geomagnetism. This book relies on readers knowledge of elementary scientific concepts, and introduces the geomagnetism concepts as they evaluated in time. The focus is on some basic concepts and physical processes in order to understand the evolution of a specific element of the geomagnetic field, the declination. The primary audience may have just started an interest in the geomagnetism and history of science, as students and researchers. Some readers may have an interest that only touches the geomagnetism, as navigators, geophysicists, historians.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references.
Access Note
Access limited to authorized users.
Source of Description
Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed September 20, 2022).
Series
SpringerBriefs in earth sciences.
Available in Other Form
Print version: 9783031094750
Some introductory notions
The poetry and philosophy of the beginnings
The first attempts of observing the magnetic declination
Ancient declination maps
Long-series of declination observations
Geomagnetic vector field: from ground to satellite measurements
Magnetic information frozen in the archeological vestiges and rocks
Maps of magnetic declination over the last centuries
Spatial evolution: Westward drift
Temporal evolution: geomagnetic jerks
Geomagnetic and magnetic poles
Next interest in magnetic declination.
