John Serson

John Serson (died 1744) was an English sea captain best known for his invention of a "whirling speculum".[1] This was an early form of artificial horizon designed for marine navigation, consisting of a mirror, attached to a spinning top, that attempted to remain in a horizontal plane despite the movement of the ship. This device can be seen as a precursor to the gyroscope used in modern inertial navigation, although it was not itself a gyroscope.[2]

Serson was lost at sea on HMS Victory in 1744.[3]

See also

References
  1. Bedini SA, "History Corner: The Artificial Horizon", Professional Surveyor Magazine December 1999 Volume 19 Number 10 "Professional Surveyor Magazine". Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  2. Turner G, "History of Gyroscopes", gyroscopes.org - account of first test of Serson's speculum
  3. Wagner JF, "From Bohnenberger's Machine to Integrated Navigation Systems, 200 Years of Inertial Navigation", Photogrammetric Week 05, Wichmann Verlag, Heidelberg 2005


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.