Wednesday Books: Heroes of space and time MEASURING THE UNIVERSE: THE HISTORICAL QUEST TO QUANTIFY SPACE BY KITTY FERGUSON, HEADLINE, pounds 14.99 THE BIRTH OF TIME: HOW WE MEASURED THE AGE OF THE UNIVERSE BY JOHN GRIBBIN, WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON, pounds 18.99

From: The Independent - London | Date: April 21, 1999| Author: James Rogers | Copyright information

ERATOSTHENES OF Cyrene was chief librarian of the famous library at Alexandria, and a contemporary of Archimedes, from whom he acquired his knowledge of geometry. His eclectic interests included mapping and measuring things. The chance discovery that there was a well in Cyrene to the bottom of which the sun's light penetrated on the summer solstice enabled him to calculate the circumference of the earth, by measuring the angle of the shadow of a stick set up in Alexandria on the same day. His...

Read all of this article with a FREE trial to HighBeam Research

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles from HighBeam Research

Our place in the UNIVERSE; Coming face to face with infinity inspires some, frightens others.(NEWS)
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) ; A man said to the universe: `Sir, I exist!' `However,' replied the universe, `The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation. ' - Stephen Crane 1/3 A few years back there was a Dutch astronomer at the University of Minnesota who spent his hours blending science, art and music with the passion
Cosmic Question; Will the Universe Go Crunch, or Will 'Dark Energy' Rip It Apart? Either Way, Your Head Will Pop.
The Washington Post ; ... earlier this month, throwing a sop to Democrats desperate for good news. Regardless of the timing, The End as Linde sees it would prove ... crash between these branes," Steinhardt says -- but there's good news at his version of The End. There's a bounce! The whole enterprise ...
WEB AFFAIRS: Understanding our complex universe, NATION
The Nation (Thailand) ; ... some other people out there might also be interested." Nine main maps - each 10 to 20 times the scale of the previous one - lead to ... years (the visible universe). From each of these pages extra maps and topic pages are available dealing with such subjects as The ...
THIS YEAR'S TOP DISCOVERY; There goes the UNIVERSE 1998's top scientific breakthroughs.(NEWS)
Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) ; Last year it was Dolly the cloned sheep. This year it's the mysteriously accelerating universe. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest scientific organization, has issued its list of the top 10 science breakthroughs of 1998. And if the top choice turns out to
A few starry and universal truths. (astronomers believe that expansion of the universe that began after the Big Bang is speeding up)(Brief Article)
U.S. News & World Report ; Don't change plans for the weekend, but the universe may be at a crucial juncture: on the cusp of a shift from a rosy and bright past to a future of dark and endless oblivion. Astronomers, who gathered in Washington last week for the American Astronomical Society's annual meeting, report that
Universe will expand forever, scientists say.(Originated from Knight Ridder Newspaper)
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service ; WASHINGTON _ Although predictions for the fate of the universe have fluctuated more than the stock market in recent years, scientists are converging on the conclusion that the universe will expand forever, rather than collapse into a ``big crunch The Big Bang was the beginning, but there will be no
Fate of universe may depend on strength of dark energy.(The Dallas Morning News)
Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service ; Someday, the universe will become a cold, dark place. OK, it already is a cold, dark place. But just when you think things are as cold and dark as they can get, along comes a new idea of how things ought to work and the future suddenly looks even bleaker. Just ask an astronomer how things are going
Turn out the stars; The universe.('The Extravagant Universe: Exploding Stars, Dark Energy and the Accelerating Cosmos')(Book Review)
The Economist (US) ; If you were hoping for a simple universe, the prevailing theory of how it works is repellent, even to scientists who propounded it WHAT is the fate of the universe? Cosmologists tell us that it all began with a big bang, and has been expanding ever since. But what will happen next? Until recently,
Hawking imparts universe of knowledge in Berkeley
Oakland Tribune ; BERKELEY -- Physicist Stephen Hawking held a sellout crowd rapt Tuesday night with a brief history of man's quest to understand the universe. As the crowd waited for Hawking to appear, Zellerbach Hall was tense with the kind of excitement and anticipation usually reserved for rock stars. It felt as
Hawking imparts universe of wisdom
Oakland Tribune ; BERKELEY -- Physicist Stephen Hawking held a sold-out crowd rapt recently with a brief history of man's quest to understand the universe. As the crowd waited for Hawking to appear, Zellerbach Hall was tense with the kind of excitement and anticipation usually reserved for rock stars. It felt as if