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Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2022 10:23:37 +0100 Message-ID: <7c0ecc3c-d35b-2df1-6393-9234ce8e4a45@free.fr> References: <9dd4626b-e9e5-b2a9-66b4-47014e1fc195@fiee.net> <7r18p5p7-46pn-q61-p1op-80q9srp9r9r5@hzvpu.rqh> <8703c2ff-7954-a1b0-004b-ea3965bc20da@xs4all.nl> Reply-To: mailing list for ConTeXt users Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============5451893934837871842==" Injection-Info: ciao.gmane.io; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:116.202.254.214"; logging-data="22020"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@ciao.gmane.io" User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:91.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/91.5.0 Cc: Jean-Pierre Delange To: Otared Kavian via ntg-context Original-X-From: ntg-context-bounces@ntg.nl Wed Jan 26 10:24:20 2022 Return-path: Envelope-to: gctc-ntg-context-518@m.gmane-mx.org Original-Received: from zapf.boekplan.nl ([5.39.185.232] helo=zapf.ntg.nl) by ciao.gmane.io with esmtps (TLS1.3:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 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In line with what Otared writes= about the measurement of distances in the context of Persia and ancient Rome, I am always very surprised to see the precision of the measurements in the evaluation of the circumference of the earth by Eratosthenes of Cyrene. What intrigues me is not really the geometry calculations involved, but the calculation of the distance between Aswan and Alexandria. There is little information on the taking of this measurement: is it Egyptian surveyors (bematists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bem= atist) or the use of an instrument equivalent to a pedometer? see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eratosthenes

Le 26/01/2022 =C3=A0 09:41, Otared Kav= ian via ntg-context a =C3=A9crit=C2=A0:

On 26 Jan 2022, at 00:17, =
Hans Hagen via ntg-context <ntg-context@ntg.nl> wrote:
[=E2=80=A6]
times (clocks) were definitely different per city

Regarding the issue of the absolute necessity of defining a standard time=
 the book by Peter Galison =C2=AB Einstein=E2=80=99s Clocks, Poincar=C3=A9=
=E2=80=99s Maps =C2=BB gives some interesting insight. In particular, sin=
ce after the mid 19th century trains were developed while the time was no=
t standardized, many accidents happened with hundreds of people killed. T=
his led Henri Poincar=C3=A9, Lorentz and Einstein (among other mathematci=
ans and physicists) to th enotion of relativity=E2=80=A6

Regarding the measure of the distance, area, volumes and weight indeed ea=
ch region of the world had its own units because the trade and exchange o=
f products were essentially local. With the progressive extension of the =
exchanges between regions and countries the need for a standardization ap=
peared more and more.
For example the problem of measuring grains is a quite difficult one: if =
one measures the weight, depending on how much humidity the grains contai=
n, one has different amount of the real stuff. If one measures the volume=
 of the grains, then according how compressed they are, the amount of the=
 grains may be different=E2=80=A6 (at some point there was a law which st=
ated that when a unit vessel of grains was to be sold, the seller should =
struck the bottom of the vessel on a table three times and then refill ag=
ain sthe vessel for it to be full).

The measure of the distances on roads in the Persian empire had one unit =
and one subunit: =C2=AB parasang =C2=BB and =C2=AB mil =C2=BB. Parasang, =
which means =C2=AB big stone =C2=BB in Persian, was the average distance =
which a fantassin could walk in a certain amount of time, and was marked =
by a large piece of stone on the road (this is also reported by Herodotus=
). Each parasang was divided into three =C2=AB mil =C2=BB, which means =C2=
=AB iron bar =C2=BB in Persian, and was marked by planting an iron bar on=
 the road side. A parasang is between 5400 and 6000 meters, and thus a =C2=
=AB mil =C2=BB is something about 1800 and 2000 meters. These units were =
used in many areas outside the Persian empire, and are still used, in par=
ticular the parasang, in Iran and Afghanistan (in Iran a parasang is 6 ki=
lometers now). (Personnaly I think the Roman mile has its origin in the P=
ersian =C2=AB mil =C2=BB: I think the etymology of the word mile based on=
 the word =C2=AB mille =C2=BB, a thousand, cannot be correct since it doe=
s not correspond to one thousand of any other unit of length used in the =
Roman empire).

Best regards: Otared



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--=20
Jean-Pierre Delange
Ancients&Moderns
Professeur Agr=C3=A9g=C3=A9 de Philosophie (HC)

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