Re: Strange Maths (was Re: Why not 13 months?)

Bernd Paysan (paysan@informatik.tu-muenchen.de)
24 Jul 1995 14:08:43 GMT

In article <3um8n0$98o@shore.shore.net>, Whittet@shore.net (Whittet) writes:
>First the Pyramid has a slope of 51d51' which makes it far from easy to construct
>casually.

Well, that's 14 above and 11 aside (thus 51.8427734126309 deg or
51€51'34"). Nothing special problematic to construct, and quite OK for
statics.

>Secondly its Apothem, or sloped side is equal to a stadium (600 Greek feet)
>1/600th of a degree (1/360) of the Earths circumference.

Didn't the greek by a number of not accumulating errors got to a good
approximation of the earth's circumference (about 600 statium a degree,
where the "about" turned out to be quite good)?

>Third, that degree has 365240 English feet in it. How can that be a coincidence?

Does it? Assuming 40'000 km (and 2.54cm/"), I get 364537 feets/degree. Or I
get 43'139 km, but I doubt that the earth is really that flat.

>Fourth the circumference of the pyramid at its base has 36524 English inches in it

Who's? Cheops' alias Khef'ren? Cheops' is AFAIK about 140m height, so the
14/11 ratio leads to 34644 inches around, ok, that's +- some percent, but
exactly 36524? There's a lot of material missing on the sides and on the top
of Cheops' pyramid.

>Fifth the ratio of its height to the circumference of its base is the same as the
>ratio of the radius of the earth to its circumference.

Well, pi, but was this really intentional? Former piramids had a different
slope, but had problems with statics.

-- 

Bernd Paysan

"Late answers are wrong answers!"

http://www.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~paysan/