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The New Coffee Room

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  3. Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.

Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.

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  • LuFins DadL Offline
    LuFins DadL Offline
    LuFins Dad
    wrote on last edited by
    #3

    Local Sunlight Theory? FFS…

    The Brad

    1 Reply Last reply
    • taiwan_girlT taiwan_girl

      The experiment itself was interesting. And the length of time to accomplish it. It would be like you could call your friend, get a real time measurement and compare.

      Somehow you had to let someone know that at X time, measure the shadow. And then relay that over 800 Km.

      Aqua LetiferA Offline
      Aqua LetiferA Offline
      Aqua Letifer
      wrote on last edited by
      #4

      @taiwan_girl said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

      The experiment itself was interesting. And the length of time to accomplish it. It would be like you could call your friend, get a real time measurement and compare.

      Somehow you had to let someone know that at X time, measure the shadow. And then relay that over 800 Km.

      Which is exactly what they did. I learned about this in high school. People did try these experiments.

      Please love yourself.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nycJ Online
        jon-nyc
        wrote on last edited by
        #5

        The first (and best) half of Max Tegmark’s book ‘Our Mathematical Universe’ explores the history of human knowledge about the universe and covers in great detail some of the early experiments of the ancient Greeks. It’s a truly fascinating read.

        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
        -Cormac McCarthy

        1 Reply Last reply
        • KlausK Offline
          KlausK Offline
          Klaus
          wrote on last edited by
          #6

          If you want to use this experiment to calculate the circumference of the earth, I think it would matter that one city is south or north of the other. Otherwise, how can you be sure that you measure at the same time of the day without any sun-independent time measuring device?

          1 Reply Last reply
          • jon-nycJ Online
            jon-nycJ Online
            jon-nyc
            wrote on last edited by jon-nyc
            #7

            THere's a detail Sagan missed.

            Syene is on the Tropic of Cancer. It was known that the obelisk cast no shadow at noon on the summer solstice. So Erasthenes simply measured the angle in Alexandria when the shadow was at its shortest on the solstice.

            "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
            -Cormac McCarthy

            1 Reply Last reply
            • jon-nycJ Online
              jon-nycJ Online
              jon-nyc
              wrote on last edited by
              #8

              By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?

              As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

              "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
              -Cormac McCarthy

              Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
              • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?

                As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                Doctor PhibesD Online
                Doctor PhibesD Online
                Doctor Phibes
                wrote on last edited by
                #9

                @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                Your time is coming, McTwatface

                I was only joking

                jon-nycJ brendaB 2 Replies Last reply
                • CopperC Offline
                  CopperC Offline
                  Copper
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #10

                  https://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Genius-Greatest-Scientific-Problem-ebook/dp/B003WUYE66/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JVFBOUFUEEKL&keywords=longitude&qid=1659112814&sprefix=longitude%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1

                  The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem."

                  Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.

                  58430b22-9b9d-45f5-a27a-d40447139be2-image.png

                  jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
                  • CopperC Copper

                    https://www.amazon.com/Longitude-Genius-Greatest-Scientific-Problem-ebook/dp/B003WUYE66/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3JVFBOUFUEEKL&keywords=longitude&qid=1659112814&sprefix=longitude%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1

                    The dramatic human story of an epic scientific quest and of one man's forty-year obsession to find a solution to the thorniest scientific dilemma of the day--"the longitude problem."

                    Full of heroism and chicanery, it is also a fascinating brief history of astronomy, navigation, and clockmaking, and opens a new window on our world.

                    58430b22-9b9d-45f5-a27a-d40447139be2-image.png

                    jon-nycJ Online
                    jon-nycJ Online
                    jon-nyc
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #11

                    @Copper I read that years ago. My father gave it to me.

                    "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                    -Cormac McCarthy

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • bachophileB Offline
                      bachophileB Offline
                      bachophile
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #12

                      Good book longitude.

                      And another thought, did they take into account daylight savings time.? Could have thrown the whole experiment off by one hour and then where would we be. With a crooked globe.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                        @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                        By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                        As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                        Your time is coming, McTwatface

                        jon-nycJ Online
                        jon-nycJ Online
                        jon-nyc
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #13

                        @Doctor-Phibes said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                        @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                        By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                        As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                        Your time is coming, McTwatface

                        That’s MISTER McTwatface to you, pal.

                        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                        -Cormac McCarthy

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • Doctor PhibesD Doctor Phibes

                          @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                          By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                          As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                          Your time is coming, McTwatface

                          brendaB Offline
                          brendaB Offline
                          brenda
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #14

                          @Doctor-Phibes said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                          @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                          By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                          As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                          Your time is coming, McTwatface

                          That's Twaty McTwatface, sir.

                          Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                          • brendaB brenda

                            @Doctor-Phibes said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                            @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                            By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                            As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                            Your time is coming, McTwatface

                            That's Twaty McTwatface, sir.

                            Doctor PhibesD Online
                            Doctor PhibesD Online
                            Doctor Phibes
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #15

                            @brenda said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                            @Doctor-Phibes said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                            @jon-nyc said in Sagan: Ancient Greeks showed the earth is round.:

                            By the way, do you guys know any greeks? Isn't it shocking that they used to be brilliant?
                            As implausible-but-true facts go, it's right up there with the English having ruled the world.

                            Your time is coming, McTwatface

                            That's Twaty McTwatface, sir.

                            I was trying not to be overly offensive. I know Jon’s a bit sensitive

                            I was only joking

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