Advances in Time and Position Instruments

Time and position finders have been steadily changing over the centuries. In ancient times some people used the sun, moon, stars and even birds to find which direction they were moving. In recent centuries people have been using tools like crossbars, astrolabes, and sun disks to find their way and time during the day, many times while out-to sea. Today we have GPS's (Global Positioning Satellite) can tell us exactly where we are. In fact, government prevents them from being too accurate in the hands of the common consumer. The invention of the sundial was made so to cast a shadow upon a certain number or nook in order to tell the time of day. Sundials were used throughout history, and even before recorded times.Next we enter the Age of Discovery. The European conquest of the Americas may have been much different without devices to know time and position. Inventors worked to perfect the pendulum, the crossbars, longitude, sextant, and a variety of clocks including a sea-worthy clock. The most primitive version of the sextant was named "the crossbars. The first mechanical clocks were massive semi-accurate timekeepers. England realized the need for ships to have precision timekeeping when its naval flagship went way off course and was lost. They then decided to offer a reward of 20,000 pounds to whoever could produce a sea-worthy timekeeper. After four tries John Harrison came out with his accurate sea-worthy clock, the Harrison-4. Clocks grew more versatile, compact and accurate.
Advances in science led to the development of satellites. From satellites, GPS was born. Today a GPS position finder is capable of telling you your position accurately up to about three feet from anywhere in the world. As first seen in "Desert Storm", missiles can use GPS to pinpoint a target. Car thieves avoid autos with GPS chips. Some criminals are forced to wear GPS devices that signal authorities of parole violations. How might kidnapping became a thing of the past? Technology continues to advance with time. Will ethical practices in privacy be able to stay ahead of the technology? For our present time, are we living in the future?