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Bezig met laden... Measure of the Earth: The Enlightenment Expedition That Reshaped Our World (origineel 2011; editie 2011)door Larrie D. Ferreiro (Auteur)
Informatie over het werkMeasure of the Earth: The Enlightenment Expedition That Reshaped Our World door Larrie D. Ferreiro (2011)
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Meld je aan bij LibraryThing om erachter te komen of je dit boek goed zult vinden. Op dit moment geen Discussie gesprekken over dit boek. A thrilling tale of adventure, political history, and scientific discovery, Measure of the Earth recounts the greatest scientific expedition of the Enlightenment through the eyes of the men who completed it—pioneers who overcame tremendous adversity to traverse the towering Andes Mountains in order to discern the Earth’s shape. In the process they also opened the eyes of Europe to the richness of South America and paved the way for scientific cooperation on a global scale. In Measure of the Earth, Larrie Ferreiro takes us inside the scientific expedition that set off from France to South America in the eighteenth century to discover the answer. Ferreiro not only brings to life the band of characters that embarked on this journey, with all of their intrigues and rivalries, but he so details the huge stakes in involved. Whichever country discovered the Earth's correct shape would take a giant leap forward enhancing their military and economics power. A fascinanting account of scientific inquiry thoroughly enmeshed in the race for power and empire.
The Geodesic Mission remains one of the greatest adventures in history, even if the science at its core seems of only passing interest today. Mr. Ferreiro's superb book makes every mosquito bite, pork dinner and sleepless night seem worth it. Erelijsten
"In the early eighteenth century, at the peak of the Enlightenment, an unlikely team of European scientists and naval officers set out on the world's first international, cooperative scientific expedition. Intent on making precise astronomical measurements at the Equator, they were poised to resolve one of mankind's oldest mysteries: the true shape of the Earth. In Measure of the Earth, award-winning science writer Larrie D. Ferreiro tells the full story of the Geodesic Mission to the Equator for the very first time. It was an age when Europe was torn between two competing conceptions of the world: the followers of Rene Descartes argued that the Earth was elongated at the poles, even as Isaac Newton contended that it was flattened. A nation that could accurately determine the planet's shape could securely navigate its oceans, giving it great military and imperial advantages. Recognizing this, France and Spain organized a joint expedition to colonial Peru, Spain's wealthiest kingdom. Armed with the most advanced surveying and astronomical equipment, they would measure a degree of latitude at the Equator, which when compared with other measurements would reveal the shape of the world. But what seemed to be a straightforward scientific exercise was almost immediately marred by a series of unforeseen catastrophes, as the voyagers found their mission threatened by treacherous terrain, a deeply suspicious populace, and their own hubris. A thrilling tale of adventure, political history, and scientific discovery, Measure of the Earth recounts the greatest scientific expedition of the Enlightenment through the eyes of the men who completed it--pioneers who overcame tremendous adversity to traverse the towering Andes Mountains in order to discern the Earth's shape. In the process they also opened the eyes of Europe to the richness of South America and paved the way for scientific cooperation on a global scale"--
"This book tells the story of an international scientific expedition during the European Enlightenment to measure the length of a degree of latitude at the equator, and to thereby determine the exact shape of the earth. The leaderships in France and her ally Spain put together an expedition to travel to the equator and measure a degree of latitude there; compared with the degree already measured in Paris, this new measurement would yield the exact shape of the earth. The Geodesic Mission to the Equator departed for colonial Peru (modern-day Ecuador) in 1735, with a motley team that included three French scientists, two Spanish naval officers and their assistants. When the expedition finally returned almost ten years later--battered by even more unexpected hardships and self-inflicted tragedies--all of Europe was waiting with bated breath. Using their measurements, the scientists successfully revealed the true figure of the Earth: a slightly flattened sphere, a conclusion that vindicated Newton's followers"-- Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)526.609033Natural sciences and mathematics Astronomy Mathematical geography; cartography, map making Geodetic astronomy and geographical positionsLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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It is an incredible story, almost epic in it's grand scale of time and distance. It travels from the salons of Paris to the slave markets of Haiti, the volcanoes of Ecuador and the jungles of the Amazon. Members of the expedition, scientists, surgeons, soldiers, servants and slaves, were thousands of miles away from home, exposed to tropical heat, mountainous cold, disease, treachery and much more. It's all amazing, even more so because it's true. ( )