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Sat 11 Sep, 2010 07:42 am
Sir,
I have heard of Eratosthenes who found out the circumference of Earth about 2200 years before, and also I understood the way he did it. I wish to do that activity. But the problem is to know where the sun will be directly overhead, during the local noon while I am doing the activity. Is there any way to find out that? Hope I could find out the distance between that place and my place myself.
Thanking you in advance,
Deepu
@Deepu Sen,
You can start same way Eratosthenes did, in Alexandria: on only one day a year, and for only one minute, the "sun's dazzling countenance" is reflected from the surface of any water well. If you have no wells where you live, stick any straight edge into the ground vertically and wait for a day it casts no shadow. System works best near the equator.
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