SHAPE & SIZE OF THE EARTH

• Aristotle (4th century BC) showed that the Earth is spherical.

• Eratosthenes (ca. 200 BC) determined the size of the Earth.

(1) Aristotle (4th century BC) showed that the Earth is spherical.
The first person recorded as saying the Earth is spherical was the Greek
philosopher Pythagoras, who lived in the 6th century BC.

Although Pythagoras realized the importance of mathematics in describing the

universe (the famous Pythagorean Theorem is attributed to him). However he was
not a rigorous scientist. He supported his statement that the Earth is spherical
with the mystical-philosophical reason that the sphere is the `perfect shape', and
that the Earth must therefore be spherical.

The philosopher-scientist Aristotle, who lived in the 4th century BC, was the first
to give REASONS why the Earth is spherical. He supported his statement that the
Earth is spherical with three elements of directly observed evidence.

(1a) Matter is drawn to the center of the Earth by gravity. This tends to compress
the Earth into a spherical shape. (This is the weakest of Aristotle's arguments;
rock is stiff, and is able to resist the tendency to be compressed into a sphere.)

(1b) As you move from north to south, new constellations are seen rising above the
southern horizon. For instance:

• The Southern Cross is invisible from far

northern latitudes, because the outward
bulge of the spherical Earth hides it.
Incidentally the Southern Cross appears on
the flag of the southern country of Australia

• The Big Dipper is similarly hidden from far

southern latitudes. The Big Dipper appears
on the flag of the northern state of Alaska –
(While this is a stronger argument, it still only proves that the Earth is curved in
the north - south direction, not in the east - west.)

(1c) During a lunar eclipse, the Earth's shadow on the Moon is always round. The
only object whose shadow is always circular, no matter what its orientation, is a
sphere. (This is the strongest of Aristotle's arguments.)

During the Middle Ages, Aristotle was the standard scientific authority in the
Christian and Muslim worlds. Literate individuals (who were, of course, a minority
at the time) believed Aristotle's statement that the world is spherical. The Divine
Comedy, for instance, written by Dante in 1300 AD, makes the basic assumption
that the Earth is a sphere - an assumption that Dante shared with all his readers.

(2) Eratosthenes (ca. 200 BC) determined the size of the Earth.
Not only did ancient and medieval astronomers know the shape of the Earth
(starting with Aristotle around 350 BC), they also knew the approximate size of
the Earth (starting with Eratosthenes around 200 BC).

Eratosthenes was the head librarian at the famous Library of Alexandria. He was
able to determine the size of the Earth without ever having to leave the city of
Alexandria (in northern Egypt).

Eratosthenes read, in one of the many scrolls contained in the Library of

Alexandria, that at noon on June 21 (the time of the Summer solstice), in the town
of Syene, (sI-'E-nE) the Sun is at the zenith, or directly overhead. (Syene is the
modern city of Aswan, located south of Alexandria, on the banks of the Nile.) The
next time June 21 rolled around, Eratosthenes stepped outside, and determined
that the Sun was NOT directly overhead as seen from Alexandria, but was 7.2
degrees south of the zenith (the point directly overhead). Eratosthenes was able
to use these observations to determine the size of the Earth, but only if he made a
few assumptions first.

THE ASSUMPTIONS OF ERATOSTHENES:

• The Earth is spherical - this had been known since Aristotle had figured it out a
century and a half earlier.
• The Sun is very far away, compared to the size of the Earth - this implies
that a ray of sunlight striking Alexandria and a ray of sunlight striking
Syene are essentially parallel*
 *Alexandria is due north of Syene - this isn't exactly true, but it only introduces a
minor error into the result.

Using his observations and

assumptions, Eratosthenes was able to
make this diagram:

Figure 1. [Image credit=Jim Loy]

A ray of sunlight strikes Syene perpendicular to the ground. A parallel ray of

sunlight strikes Alexandria at an angle of 7.2 degrees from the perpendicular. The
laws of geometry (as compiled by Euclid, a century before the time of
Eratosthenes) tell us that the angle from Alexandria to the center of Earth to
Syene must also be 7.2 degrees. (O.K. so how was the figured – example at the end)

Eratosthenes noted that, ‘as Seen from the center of the Earth, Alexandria and
Syene are 7.2 degrees apart;’ and that is 1/50 of a complete circle (360˚ ÷ 7.2˚ =
50). The distance between Alexandria and Syene, as measured on the surface of
the Earth, must then be 1/50 of the complete distance around the Earth.

To find the circumference of the Earth, Eratosthenes simply had to find the
distance between Alexandria and Syene, and multiply it by 50. The road from
Alexandria to Syene was a well-traveled trade route, and the Alexandria - Syene
distance was well known.
• Distance from Alexandria to Syene = 5000 stades.
• Circumference of the Earth = 50 x 5000 = 250,000 stades.

So how much is a STADE?

The `stade' was a common unit of length in the ancient world. Unfortunately, the
length of the stade varied from place to place. The most commonly used value was
the Olympic stade of 0.185 kilometers (corresponding to the length of the foot
races run at the ancient Olympic games). If Eratosthenes used the Olympic stade,
he found a value for the circumference of 46,250 kilometers (15% longer than the
true value of 40,000 kilometers). However, since he was in Egypt, he might have
been using the Egyptian stade of 0.157 kilometers. This would have given a value
for the circumference of 39,300 kilometers, only 2% smaller than the true value.

No matter which `stade' Eratosthenes was using, he came remarkably close to the
truth. He was well aware that the Earth, with a circumference of roughly 40,000
kilometers, was much larger than the Mediterranean world with which he was
familiar. (The Mediterranean Sea is about 4000 kilometers long from east to
west.)

Since a mile is the equivalent of 1.6 kilometers, this means that 40,000 kilometers
equals 25,000 miles. The actual circumference of the Earth is 24,859 miles if
measured at the poles. Pretty darn good from some really old guy.

Questions:
Q: How likely is it that a question concerning the method Eratosthenes used to
calculate the circumference of the Earth will be on the EXAM?
A: Highly likely

Q: Should we know how to calculated the diameter of a sphere (different from

earth) based on different angles and distances?
A: I do believe you should.
TABLE A. TANGENT TABLE

Adapted from: Prof. Barbara Ryden of Ohio State University Copyright © 2002
THE ACTIVITY – Determine the Circumference of the Earth

In this activity, students will use the same procedure Erastothenes used to
measure the angle of the Sun at Alexandria, Egypt.

1. Divide the class into research groups of 3 or 4 members.

2. Set up the measurement station. (See Figure 2, above.)

• Place a vertical stick or gnomon perpendicular to the ground. For accurate

measurement, it is critical that the gnomon be vertical.
• Have the students dangle a rock tied to a string above the ground in front of
the gnomon to ensure that the gnomon is in a true vertical position.
• Consult your local newspaper for the sunrise/sunset times to determine solar
noon for your location and time zone.
• Have the students calculate the midpoint.

3. Measure the height of the gnomon.

Note: Wind can be a major factor in the activity.

4. Place strips of paper under the station to mark where the shadow ends or have
some method of marking the location on the ground using small stakes or something
similar. (again use Figure 2).

5. Take measurements of the gnomon’s shadow every 2 minutes, beginning 10

minutes before local noon, which is the time that the Sun is
highest in the sky.

6. Record your data on Student Data Chart 1 that follows.

7. Locate the latitude and longitude of your school location and record it on
Student Data Chart 1.

8. Identify your “best” shadow length (the best shadow length at local noon time).

9. Calculate the tangent by dividing the “best” shadow length by the height of the
gnomon.
10. Locate this number or the nearest rounded number on the Tangent Table
(Table A above). Option: Find the measure of the tangent by dividing (on a
scientific calculator) the length of the shadow by the height of the object.

11. Record tangent (sun angle) on Student Data Chart 1.

12. Make a scale drawing of your gnomon and shadow, completing the triangle and
measure the tangent (sun angle) with a protractor to verify your calculations.

Note: By conducting this same

activity on the vernal (spring) or d = distance between Syene and Alexandria
autumnal (fall) equinox, the vertical A = 360 degrees assumption of round Earth
rays of the Sun are directly over a = shadow angle of the gnomon
the equator, as they were at Syene. D = to be determined (circumference)

Challenge:
By using a globe or an atlas,
determine the distance between
your location and the equator (i.e.
“d” in equation below) and calculate
the Earth’s circumference. Use the
same formula Erastothenes used:

STUDENT DATA CHART 1

Site Location on the Location on the Shadow Target Angle
Your Location Name globe (Longitude) globe (Latitude) Length

So…. What is the Circumference of the Earth that you calculated??