Full meridian of glory: perilous adventures in the competition to measure the earth

Full meridian of glory: perilous adventures in the competition to measure the earth

Murdin, P.

20,75 €(IVA inc.)

The Paris Meridian is the name of the line running north-south through the astronomical observatory in Paris. One of the original intentions behind the founding of the Paris Observatory was to determine and measure this line. The French government financed the Paris Academy of Sciences to do so in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. It employed both astronomers – people who study and measure the stars – and geodesists – people who study and measure the Earth. This book is about what they did and why. This is the first English languagepresentation of this historical material. It is attractively written and it features the story of the community of scientists who created the Paris Meridian. They knew each other well – some were members of the same families, in one case of four generations. Like scientists everywhere they collaborated and formed alliances; they also split into warring factions and squabbled. An exciting, true account of the adventures of the scientists who carried out a major scientific enterprise The first English language account of this story Features many of the locations and memorials in France of the incidents that happened during the measurements made by the scientists and can be used as a travel guide INDICE: Introduction: On the Trail of The Da Vinci Code.- The Incroyable Pique-nique and the Méridienne Verte.- The Paris Meridian.- The Size of France.- The Shape of the Earth.- The Meridian and the Sun.- The Revolution and the Metre.- The Paris Meridian in the Napoleonic Wars.- Past its Prime.- The Greenwich and Paris Meridians in the Space Age.- Walking the Line: the Arago Memorial. Bibliography. Acknowledgements.

  • ISBN: 978-0-387-75533-5
  • Editorial: Springer
  • Encuadernacion: Cartoné
  • Páginas: 160
  • Fecha Publicación: 01/11/2008
  • Nº Volúmenes: 1
  • Idioma: Inglés