Eratosthenes and Indirect Measurement: Mathematics 15: Lecture 5

Eratosthenes and Indirect Measurement
Mathematics 15: Lecture 5

Dan Sloughter
Furman University
September 20, 2006
Dan Sloughter (Furman University)
September 20, 2006
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.
Director of the library at Alexandria
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.

Among his many accomplishments:
September 20, 2006
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.

Maps of the known world
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.

I
I

An improved calendar (365 days to the year, plus an extra day every
fourth year)
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Eratosthenes
275 B.C. - 194 B.C.

I
I

An improved calendar (365 days to the year, plus an extra day every
fourth year)
An ingeniously simple way for estimating the circumference of the
earth.
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Measuring the earth

I
Eratosthenes learned that at noon on the summer solstice, a sun dial

in Syene would not cast a shadow: the sunss rays are perpendicular
to the earth.
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Measuring the earth

I

to the earth.
At noon in Alexandria on the summer solstice, a sun dial would cast a

1
shadow: the rays from the sun would make an angle of 50
of a circle,
or 7.2 , with the vertical.
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Measuring the earth

I

to the earth.
At noon in Alexandria on the summer solstice, a sun dial would cast a

1
shadow: the rays from the sun would make an angle of 50
of a circle,
or 7.2 , with the vertical.
Moreover, Alexandria and Syene lie on the same line of longitude,

with Alexandria 5000 stadia north of Syene.
Alexandria
7.2
7.2o
5000 stadia
Syene
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Measuring the earth (contd)
Assuming that the light rays reaching Syene and Alexandria are
essentially parallel, and using a basic result from geometry (a line
crossing two parallel lines makes equal angles), it follows that the
angle formed by Alexandria, the center of the earth, and Syene is also
1
50 of a circle.
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1
50 of a circle.
Hence, if C is the circumference of the earth,

5000
1
=
.
50
C
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1
50 of a circle.
Hence, if C is the circumference of the earth,

5000
1
=
.
50
C
Thus C = 250, 000 stadia, between 23, 911 and 33, 381 miles.
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Similar triangles
I
Thales (624 B.C. - 547 B.C.) supposedly found the height of the
Great Pyramid as follows.
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Similar triangles
I
First, he noticed that a stick 10 feet tall casts a shadow 16 feet long
at the same time that the Great Pyramid casts a shadow 770 feet
long.
h
10
770
16
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Similar triangles
I
long.
h
10
770
I
16
He then reasoned that the triangles formed by the pyramid and its
shadow and the stick and its shadow were similar triangles (that is,
the two triangles have equal angles).
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Similar triangles
I
long.
h
10
770
16
He then reasoned that the triangles formed by the pyramid and its
shadow and the stick and its shadow were similar triangles (that is,
the two triangles have equal angles).
Fact from geomtry: the ratios of the sides of similar triangles are
equal.
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Similar triangles (contd)
Hence if h is the height of the pyramid, we have

h
10
= ,
770
16
and so
h=
10 770
= 481.25 feet.
16
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The ideas of trigonometry
Trigonometry starts from two basic facts:
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I
If two triangles are similar, then the ratios of corresponding sides are
the same.
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I
If two triangles are similar, then the ratios of corresponding sides are
the same.
If two right triangles have a pair of congruent acute angles, then the
triangles are similar.
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The ideas of trigonometry (contd)

I
In particular, if 4ABC is a right triangle with right angle at C , then

we define:
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I

we define:
I
Sine of A = sin A =
BC
AB
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I

we define:
I
BC
AB
AC
Cosine of A = cos A =
AB
Sine of A = sin A =
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I

we define:
I
BC
AB
AC
Cosine of A = cos A =
AB
BC
Tangent of A = tan A =
.
AC
Sine of A = sin A =
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Hipparchus (180? B.C. - 125? B.C.), amongst others, realized that

the values of these ratios for different angles could be compiled in
tables and used to compute distances which were otherwise
inaccessible.
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Example
I
Suppose that at a distance of 120 feet from a building we measure

the angle between ground level and the line of sight to the top of the
building, finding it to be 35 .
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Example
I

We then know that if h is the height of the building,

h
= tan 35 .
120
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Example
I

We then know that if h is the height of the building,

h
= tan 35 .
120
Using a calculator (or Google), we find that tan 35 0.7002, and so

h = 120 0.7002 84 feet.
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Example
I
From the top of a 3 mile high mountain, we notice that the angle
between the vertical and our line of sight to the horizon (at sea level)
is 87.77 .
3
r
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Example
I
From the top of a 3 mile high mountain, we notice that the angle
between the vertical and our line of sight to the horizon (at sea level)
is 87.77 .
3
r
If r is the radius of the earth, and recalling that a line tangent to a

circle is perpendicular to a radius of the circle, we have
r
= sin 87.77 .
r +3
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Example (contd)
Hence
r = (r + 3) sin 87.77 = r sin 87.77 + 3 sin 87.77 ,
and so
r=
3 sin 87.77
.
1 sin 87.77
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Example (contd)
Hence
r = (r + 3) sin 87.77 = r sin 87.77 + 3 sin 87.77 ,
and so
r=
3 sin 87.77
.
1 sin 87.77
Using a calculator to find sin 87.77 0.99924, we have

r
(3)(0.99924)
3944 miles.
1 0.99924
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Problems
1. A tree casts a 45 foot shadow at the same time that a 5 foot pole
casts a 12 foot shadow. How tall is the tree?
2. At a distance of 100 feet from a building, it is found that the angle
made between the ground and the line of sight to the top of the
building is 50 . How tall is the building?
3. If a person who is 6 feet tall stands at the sea shore and looks to the
horizon, how far away is the horizon? Assume that the radius of the
earth is 4000 miles.
4. Standing on top of a 4 mile high mountain on the planet Rigel 7, Mr.
Spock finds the angle between his line of sight to the horizon (which
is at sea level) and the vertical is 88 . What is the radius of Rigel 7?
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Problems (contd)
5. Standing on the surface of the earth, the angle between the line of
sight to the top of the moon and the line of sight to the bottom of
the moon is 0.5 . Given that the distance from the earth to the moon
is 240, 000 miles, find the radius of the moon.
6. Twice a month the earth, moon, and sun form a right triangle with
the moon at the right angle. At this time the angle between the line
of sight to the moon and the line of sight to the sun can be
measured, and is found to be 89.85 . Given that the distance from
the earth to the moon is 240, 000 miles, find the distance from the
earth to the sun.
7. The angle in the previous problem is very hard to measure.
Aristarchus estimated the angle to be 87 . How would this change
the calculation of the distance from the earth to the sun?
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Problems (contd)
8. Viewed from the earth, the sun and moon appear to be almost the
same size. Use this fact to find the radius of the sun, given that the
radius of the moon is 1060 miles, the distance from the earth to the
moon is 240, 000 miles, and the distance from the earth to the sun is
92, 000, 000 miles.
September 20, 2006
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Eratosthenes and Indirect Measurement: Mathematics 15: Lecture 5

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Eratosthenes and Indirect Measurement

Mathematics 15: Lecture 5

September 20, 2006

Dan Sloughter (Furman University)