Kelly Prime

You could calculate your longitude.

But back in the 1700s, that wasn't an option.

Clock design at that point was just too unreliable.

There was also the issue of lubrication.

The oils used in clockmaking had the tendency to get dirty and gunked up, especially in salty ocean air.

And if you were traveling between warm and cold climates, the metal in your clock's pendulum would expand and contract with temperature, making it gain or lose time.

Harrison came up with some really ingenious and creative solutions in order to make a seaworthy clock.

To get around the need for traditional clock oil, he used wood from a type of tree called lignum vitae that actually exudes its own lubrication.

Harrison worked for five years straight to solve these three design problems.

And what he ended up with was a clock known as Harrison 1, today called H1.

What are we looking at right now?

I have to say it looks extremely steampunk, like it could be in the Will Smith vehicle Wild Wild West.

Emily showed me Harrison's sea clock, which is on display at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

What I looked at with Emily was actually the inner workings of the clock because sometime over the years, the wooden case around it disappeared.

The clock is made of gleaming brass with four small dials arranged on its face and an intricate system of tiny gears, springs, and bars behind that.

It weighs a hefty 75 pounds.

While the society was impressed with Harrison's clock, they were also pretty hesitant to trust that his idea would work.

Because why would they?

At this point, Harrison was just a clockmaker with no scientific background.

So having some skepticism about the whole thing, the society decided to give H1 a preliminary test.