Centro Interuniversitário de História das Ciências e da Tecnologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal.
Ann Sci. 2024 Jan-Apr;81(1-2):124-138. doi: 10.1080/00033790.2023.2282782. Epub 2024 Feb 2.
In the 1720s two Jesuit astronomers working at the court of King João V of Portugal, in Lisbon, received several instruments produced by the best makers in London, Paris and Rome. With the crucial help of the Portuguese diplomatic network contacts with academies, savants and instrument makers were established, seeking technical advice and the best astronomical instruments available at the time. It was in this context that in April 1726 a set of Latin instructions accompanying pendulum clocks made by George Graham were dispatched from London to Lisbon. These unpublished instructions are now preserved in the papers of Giovanni Battista Carbone, one of these Jesuit astronomers, offering a significant window into the procedures and technical details involved in the setting, operation and transport of Graham's astronomical clocks. In this paper, I will not only discuss this important document in the framework of Graham's contributions to astronomy and horology, but also in the perspective of the search for accuracy.
在 18 世纪 20 年代，两位在葡萄牙国王若昂五世宫廷工作的耶稣会天文学家收到了来自伦敦、巴黎和罗马的几位最佳制造商制作的仪器。在葡萄牙外交网络的关键帮助下，与科学院、学者和仪器制造商建立了联系，寻求当时可用的技术建议和最好的天文仪器。正是在这种背景下，1726 年 4 月，一套由乔治·格雷厄姆制作的摆钟的拉丁说明书从伦敦寄往里斯本。这些未发表的说明书现保存在其中一位耶稣会天文学家乔瓦尼·巴蒂斯塔·卡博内的文件中，为格雷厄姆的天文钟的设置、操作和运输所涉及的程序和技术细节提供了一个重要的窗口。在本文中，我不仅将在格雷厄姆对天文学和钟表学的贡献的框架内讨论这份重要文件，还将从追求准确性的角度进行讨论。
