Circumference : Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

English

ISBN: 0312372477

EAN: 9780312372477

Category: Science / Earth Sciences / Seismology & Volcanism/Mathematics / History & Philosophy/Science / Earth Sciences / General/Science / Weights & Measures/

Publisher: St. Martins Press

Release Date: 05/30/2011

Synopsis: How do you measure the size of the planet youre standing on? Circumference is the story of what happened when one man asked himself that very question. Nicholas Nicastro brings to life one of historys greatest experiments when an ancient Greek named Eratosthenes first accurately determined the distance around the spherical earth. In this fascinating narrative history, Nicastro takes a look at a deceptively simple but stunning achievement made by one man, millennia ago, with only the simplest of materials at his disposal. How was he able to measure the land at a time when distance was more a matter of a shrug and a guess at the time spent on a donkeys back? How could he be so confident in the assumptions that underlay his calculations: that the earth was round and the sun so far away that its rays struck the ground in parallel lines? Was it luck or pure scientific genius? Nicastro brings readers on a trip into a long-vanished world that prefigured modernity in many ways, where neither Eratosthenes reputation, nor the validityof his method, nor his leadership of the Great Library of Alexandria were enough to convince all his contemporaries about the dimensions of the earth. Eratosthenes results were debated for centuries until he was ultimately vindicated almost 2000 years later, during the great voyages of exploration. Circumference is a compelling scientific detective story that transports readers back to a time when humans had no idea how big their world was - and the fate of a man who dared to measure the incomprehensible.

Excerpt: Unknown Property Excerpt

Circumference : Eratosthenes and the Ancient Quest to Measure the Globe

Illustrated: Yes

Format: Hardcover

Height: 0.89 inches

Width: 5.8 inches

Length: 8.51 inches

Weight: 12.35 oz

Pages: 240