Wednesday 27 January 2010

Super! Power! Horizon Walk

Some think that it was Christopher Columbus who discovered that the world was round. In fact there were many before CC who had worked out that we're all encapsulated on the same big ball we call Earth.

Homer thought it was flat (the ancient Greek Homer) but then already in 570BC Pythagoras postulated that it was round. A century later Aristotle decided that it was, indeed round. Leave it to the clever Greek investigator Eratosthenes to bring it all together with a calculation (and a remarkably accurate one!) about the diameter of the earth, and also the inclination of its axis of rotation to its orbital plane about the sun. Amazing! And later in Medieval Europe, the earth was thought to be flat. Which is why CC takes most of the cred for this with his 17th century exploring.

The most important thing about this is that we CAN, if only in theory, take a stroll around the whole entire globe. Which is what we would like to do. From the hottest most arid climes to the mountainous chilly peaks, with a little help from YouTube, let's take a complete spin around the world. Watch this video and see how we can do it. YES WE CAN!!!

No comments: