John Serson (died 1744) was an
English sea captain best known for his invention of a "
whirling speculum". This was an early form of
artificial horizon designed for marine
navigation
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...
, 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
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining Orientation (geometry), orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in ...
used in modern
inertial navigation, although it was not itself a gyroscope.
Serson was lost at sea on in 1744.
[Wagner JF, "From Bohnenberger's Machine to Integrated Navigation Systems, 200 Years of Inertial Navigation", ''Photogrammetric Week 05'', Wichmann Verlag, Heidelberg 200]
/ref>
See also
* Artificial horizon
References
English inventors
1744 deaths
Year of birth unknown
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