edito (en)
The experiment of ERATOSTHENES
Put a staff to the sun, measure its shadow when the sun is at its highest point, deduce the angle of the solar rays compared with the vertical staff, then exchange your results with another class under another latitude. Then, a few geometrical drawings and a rule of three give you the length of earth's meridian.
Original videos:
David Jasmin (La Main à la Pâte): http://diffusion.ens.fr/index.php?res=conf&idconf=746
Mogi Vicentini (Planetario di Milano): http://www.mogi-vice.com/Pagine/Downloads.html
The library of ERATOSTHENES
The archives of the measurements
The schools
by
Eric Vayssié
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last modified
2008-04-16 23:16