Eratosthenes' Measurement of Earth/Historical Note
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Historical Note on Eratosthenes' Measurement of Earth
It is not certain what the length of the unit used by Eratosthenes of Cyrene when he made his measurement of the circumference of the Earth.
The Olympic stade of $176.4 \, \mathrm m$ would give a circumference of $44 \, 100 \, \mathrm {km}$, an error of $10 \%$.
The Italian stade of $184.8 \, \mathrm m$ would give a circumference of $46 \, 100 \, \mathrm {km}$, an error of $15 \%$.
Sources
- 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $2$: The Logic of Shape: Problems for the Greeks