The telescope
Subtitle: a short history
By: Richard Dunn
Contributors: National Maritime Museum (Great Britain)
Publisher: National Maritime Museum
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 192
ISBN-13: 9781906367046
Subjects: Histoire; Telescopes; History
Description: Offering a refreshingly cross-disciplinary approach, this history of the telescope broadens the story of this iconic device to explain the use of the telescope at sea; explore its cultural influences in literature, art, and film; and reveal its everyday uses--from bird watching to spying. Complete with illustrations that visually trace the development of the technology alongside the text, the book discloses lesser-known stories involving the dangers of termites and some unique uses of a well and a Ford Model T. While more well-known stories of scientific marvels like the Hubble telescope are also covered, this in-depth account deliberately goes beyond the obvious to examine the important development of the telescope as a modest hand-held device and analyze its wider impact on culture and society.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Before the telescope; title: The birth of the telescope 1608-1700; title: The telescope and the imagination 1608-1700; title: The reflecting telescope 1610-1800; title: Perfecting the refractor 1700-1800; title: Global domination 1720-1900; title: The telescopic view 1720-1900; title: Telescopes, binoculars and modern life; title: Modern astronomical telescopes; title: Epilogue: looking to the future.