Measurement of the Earth's radius based on historical evidence of its curvature

Abstract

Probably the most direct observation of the Earth's curvature is how objects appear from over the horizon when we approach them and disappear as we get further away from them. Similarly, the portion of a high object (a building or a mountain) that is visible depends on the height of the site where the observation is made. Based upon these very obvious facts, a simple method to estimate the Earth's radius R has been applied. The method does not need either sophisticated instrumentation or complex mathematics. In our application of the method presented here, the result is R = 6600 ± 600 km in the best case. A discussion is presented about the possible use of this method in ancient times. Surprisingly enough, we have not found any reference to the use of this method despite its being simpler than, for example, the classical approach of Eratosthenes.