The Development of Tide Prediction Machines

MyMaster’s degree research project concerns the history and developmentof analogue tide prediction machines. In this presentation I explain how the development of tidal theory and in particular the development of tide prediction machines have been shaped by the sea, as well as the novel approach to prosopography I am applying as the methodology and how I'm using digital humanities tools to do so. I gave this 20-minute presentation at the Shaped by the Sea workshop at the University of Manchester on 27June 2019. Abstract:Tide Prediction Machines (TPMs) are analogue computers that were used to predict the times of high and low tides worldwide from the end of the 1800s up to the digital age. The first TPM was designed by William Thomson (later Lord Kelvin) and built in London in 1873. It was developed as a response to increasing pressure from commercial shipping lines towards the middle of the 19th century who wanted a greater number of more accurate tidal predictions more quickly than could be calculated by hand. As well as helping shipping lines and navies to safely navigate the seas and the shores, TPMs became crucial to the building of ports and effective flood defences. Most of the 33 TPMs ever built were constructed in the UK but were then shipped to other countries who wanted to do their own calculations. Oceanographers Joseph Proudman and Arthur Doodson of Liverpool Observatory and Tidal Institute contributed significantly to the development of tidal analysis and to the evolution of TPMs. They and the institution thus gained a worldwide reputation for tidal research and prediction. TPMs were always operated on land, in some cases over 1000 km from the nearest sea or ocean. Prosopography is a research approach usually used by historians to study the lives of groups of people. Given the analogies with human groups, the research hypothesis is that it is possible to apply prosopographic methods to analyse the life cycle of TPMs, from the motivation for producing them to their status after decommissioning and replacement by newer technology. The aim is to find and analyse the common features in the lives of TPMs, which will give an appreciation of their importance, the extent of their use and usefulness, and an impression of the shape of their lives.