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You may be aware that my wife, Gail, is the Scottish organiser of the Retired Members Network of the Institute of Physics. Throughout lockdown she has arranged on-line talks for members of the Institute (with speakers including myself and Jim Floyd). She would like to extend an invitation to members of Pentlands Men's Shed to the last of the current series, on Thursday 26th August. Please see details below.
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I am delighted to say that Colin McEwen will talk to us on a topic entitled
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'From Sextant to Satellite - An Introduction to Global Navigation'
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Colin McEwen is a retired electronics engineer. He worked on the hardware of an airborne GPS receiver in the 1980s, and also has a background in sailing. He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the IET.
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Some background information to the talk.
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Sailors and travellers have always wanted to know their position. It was realised in Babylonian times that the Sun and stars appear to travel across the sky in very regular patterns. Knowing the orbits and observing the Sun etc gives data that defines the observer's position. The talk introduces basic navigation concepts and then explains how to find your position by observing the Sun with a sextant and outlines the calculations required. The final section explains the similarities and the differences between astro navigation and GPS.
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The talk concentrates on principles and the main issues encountered in practice.
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Time: August 26, 2021 1:45 PM (talk starts at 2.00 PM)
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If you are interested in joining the meeting, please let me know so that I can tell my wife to expect you.
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