They will be a little too slow, as Melbourne is nearer the equator than London is.
If a Melbourne clock-maker want his second pendulum to beat seconds in London what directions must he give?
He must tell the folks in London to lengthen the pendulum a bit.
You will see that by the world being flattened at the poles the degrees of latitude will differ. One close to the equator measures 683⁄4 miles, in Victoria about 69 miles, in England 691⁄8, while in Lapland it would be 691⁄4.
What would be the mean length of a degree?
About 691⁄20 miles.
Let me multiply that by 360, to find the mean circumference of the world; I have it—24,858 miles.”
ANNUAL MOTION.
The ship was much delayed in the Region of the Calms, as it is called; that is, near the equator.