When was navigation invented

Much more valuable, at the time, was the invention of the lead line c. This line was weighted with lead and had graduated markings to determine sea depth. The lead was coated with wax to bring up samples of the bottom.

Then go north until ye come into soundings of ooze, and then go your course east-north-east. The development of better navigational tools was motivated first by commerce and trade, then by the riches of discovery.

The Phoenicians and Greeks were the first of the Mediterranean navigators to sail from land to land and to sail at night. Often they navigated by bonfires set on mountaintops the earliest known system of Aids to Navigation. At this time, mariners began to realize that maps would be helpful and began keeping detailed records of their voyages that land-based mapmakers used to create the first nautical charts called Portolan Charts c.

The charts, created on sheepskin or goatskin, were rare and very expensive, often kept secret so that competing mariners would not have access to this knowledge.

What they lacked in accuracy they made up for in beauty. Lands and ports on the chart were highly decorated with depictions of buildings and flags. The size of the lands on the chart was more a reflection of their importance to trade routes than their actual geographical size. The charts did not have latitude or longitude lines but did have compass roses indicating bearings between major ports.

They were, of course, not very accurate because the ability to measure distances at sea had not yet developed, nor was there an accurate method to portray the spherical surface of the earth on a flat piece of material. Mariners at this time also used the cross-staff and the astrolabe c. The forerunner of the much more portable and accurate sextant , the astrolabe was used to measure the altitude of a sun or star. Heavy and clumsy, it was very difficult to use aboard a rolling ship, however, when new land was discovered and the astrolabe taken ashore, it was valuable in fixing the approximate latitude of the new discovery.

His journal reveals that he did not even know how to calculate latitude properly, his determinations being far too high. And like all sailors at the time, he was unable to calculate longitude.

When he encountered the Americas he actually thought he had reached India which explains why the names Indies and Indians are still attached to the lands he found. After a few weeks at sea the inaccuracies in the clocks could produce an error in longitude of thousands of nautical miles.

It is likely that the best clocks at the time lost 10 minutes a day which translates into an error of miles. This daily loss was not consistent, so it could not be compensated for. A major advance that made dead-reckoning much more accurate was the invention of the chip log c.

Heaven forbid we got lost and would actually have to pull over and get directions at a gas station or convenience store…if we were lucky enough to be in an area that had those.

Now, just knowing you always have your GPS as a safety net not to mention its incredibly handy notifications of the nearest gas station, rest stop, or hotel allows you the freedom to be your own compass.

But how did we evolve from using compasses to using satellites? It is believed to have begun in China sometime after the year 1, A. Once it made its way to Europe, they created their own version which paired a pivoted, magnetized needle and a card showing wind directions in a glass-covered box.

This was created right after A. While on a return voyage to Gibraltar in , a squadron of British Royal Navy ships, due to a mishap with their compass, ran horribly astray off the coast of England.

At the time, it was the worst maritime disaster in British history and the tragedy provoked people to demand safer means of navigation. You can opt for a factory-installed system on a new car , a dealer-installed system on a new or used vehicle or get a portable device that requires little or no installation. After three to five years, used- car shoppers are less interested in high-tech features, especially if they look dated and lack the capabilities of tech in newer cars , according to Edmunds analysts.

No monthly fees are associated with the use of the standard GPS navigation system installed in the vehicle. This is due to the United States government managing the constellation of global positioning satellites.

They hold useful data about the ship with information such as it's history, capacity and maintenance. It is used to record and store vital information about the ship and it's surroundings. The VDR became a necessity for all ships travelling long-distance.

History of Navigation. First Compass. First Map. Modernised Compass. The Icelandic Spar. Seagoing Chronometer. Navigational Lights. Prime Meridian. Gyro Compass. Echo Sounder. Aircraft and Ship Radar. Long-Distance Radar. Modernised Satellites and GPS. Ship Log. Landscape Portrait.