The Man Who Measured the World by The Amoeba People Lyrics
It is often erroneously taught that when Columbus set sail in 1492 he proved the Earth was round. But in the 3rd Century B.C. a Greek mathematician, poet, scientist and librarian named Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the Earth some 1700 years before Columbus' voyage. He is known to be the first man who accurately measured the wold
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He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world
Eratosthenes, who lived in Alexandria, learned that on the summer solstice in the town of Syene, sticks and columns cast no shadows at noon. But in Alexandria, which was north of Syene, they did cast shadows. He concluded that the only way to account for this was if the surface of the Earth was curved
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He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world
Eratosthenes then measured the distance from Alexandria to Syene and found it to be 800 kilometers. The distance between the cities on a curved surface came out to 7 degrees. He then multiplied 800 kilometers by 50, since 7 degrees is 1/50th the circumference of a circle, and got 40, 000 kilometers, an incredibly accurate answer for a man who never left the city of Alexandria, but ended up calculating the circumference of the world
Draw a line way back in time
Calculate the date and you'll find
He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world
Draw a line way back in time
Calculate the date and you'll find
He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world
Eratosthenes, who lived in Alexandria, learned that on the summer solstice in the town of Syene, sticks and columns cast no shadows at noon. But in Alexandria, which was north of Syene, they did cast shadows. He concluded that the only way to account for this was if the surface of the Earth was curved
Draw a line way back in time
Calculate the date and you'll find
He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world
Eratosthenes then measured the distance from Alexandria to Syene and found it to be 800 kilometers. The distance between the cities on a curved surface came out to 7 degrees. He then multiplied 800 kilometers by 50, since 7 degrees is 1/50th the circumference of a circle, and got 40, 000 kilometers, an incredibly accurate answer for a man who never left the city of Alexandria, but ended up calculating the circumference of the world
Draw a line way back in time
Calculate the date and you'll find
He's the man who measured the world
He's the man who measured the world