The Machine of Bohnenberger: Inertial link between astronomy, navigation, and geodesy
The "Machine of Bohnenberger" is considered to be the first gyro with cardanic suspension. As this apparatus forms the precursor of Foucault's Gyroscope of 1852, it rates as the ancestor of all gyroscopic instruments. Its inventor, Johann Gottlieb Friedrich Bohnenberger (1765 1831) was a professor of physics, mathematics, and astronomy at the University of Tubingen, Germany, as well as the scientific head surveying officer of the early Kingdom of Wurttemberg. Being the direct counterpart of C.F. Gauss in south west Germany, he made major contributions to introducing modern geodesy in Germany; and besides his Machine, he designed also other various physical instruments. The paper gives an overview over the initial dissemination and the further development of the Machine of Bohnenberger and outlines Bohnenberger's scientific work and life.
2018 IEEE International Symposium on Inertial Sensors and Systems (INERTIAL)