MARC Record from marc_columbia

LEADER: 03280cam a2200421 a 4500
001 6974477
005 20221130195916.0
008 080610t20082008nyuab b 001 0deng
010 $a 2008025773
020 $a9780312372477
020 $a0312372477
024 $a40016183903
035 $a(OCoLC)ocn223884798
035 $a(OCoLC)223884798
035 $a(NNC)6974477
035 $a6974477
040 $aDLC$cDLC$dBTCTA$dBAKER$dYDXCP$dC#P$dOrLoB-B
043 $ax------
050 00 $aQB291$b.N53 2008
082 00 $a526/.1092$222
100 1 $aNicastro, Nicholas.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n99008175
245 10 $aCircumference :$bEratosthenes and the ancient quest to measure the globe /$cNicholas Nicastro.
250 $a1st ed.
260 $aNew York :$bSt. Martin's Press,$c[2008], ©2008.
300 $axi, 223 pages :$billustrations, maps ;$c22 cm
336 $atext$btxt$2rdacontent
337 $aunmediated$bn$2rdamedia
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 205-211) and index.
505 00 $g1.$tThe Philosopher's Run -- $g2.$tA Zoo of Universes -- $g3.$tMr. Beta and the Ancient Plan B -- $g4.$tGreeks and Barbarians -- $g5.$tEclipse.
520 1 $a"Nicholas Nicastro brings to life one of history's greatest experiments - how the ancient Greek named Eratosthenes accurately determined the distance around the earth for the first time. In this narrative history, Nicastro takes a look at a deceptively simple but stunning achievement made by single individual millennia ago, with only the simplest of materials at his disposal. How was he able to calculate the circumference of our planet at a time when the measure of distance was more a matter of a shrug and a guess? How could he be so confident in two key assumptions that underlay his calculations: that the earth was round and the sun so far away that its rays struck the ground in parallel lines? Was it luck or pure scientific genius?" "Nicastro brings readers on a trip into a long-vanished world that prefigured modernity in many ways, where neither Eratosthenes' reputation, nor the validity of his method, nor his leadership of the Great Library of Alexandria were enough to convince all his contemporaries about the dimensions of the earth. Eratosthenes' results were debated for centuries until he was ultimately vindicated almost 2000 years later, during the great voyages of exploration." ""Circumference" is a scientific detective story that transports readers back to a time when humans had no idea how big their world was - and the fate of a man who dared to measure what was thought to be immeasurable."--BOOK JACKET.
650 0 $aArc measures.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85006477
651 0 $aEarth (Planet)$xFigure$xMeasurement.
600 00 $aEratosthenes.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82081073
650 0 $aWeights and measures, Ancient.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85145970
650 0 $aMathematics, Greek.$0http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85082177
856 42 $3Contributor biographical information$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0838/2008025773-b.html
856 42 $3Publisher description$uhttp://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0838/2008025773-d.html
852 00 $bglx$hQB291$i.N53 2008