Round,Earth,Theory,World,Globe DIY A Round Earth Theory or a World Globe Which Came First?
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If everyone thought the earth wasflat until Christopher Columbus discovered America in the late 15thcentury, how is it that some terrestrial globes were made before then? Before answering this we need to addresstwo of the facts presented in the question itself, because although they are widelyaccepted, they are nevertheless false. Discovery of North AmericaColumbus was definitely not thefirst to discover America, though he was probably the first to spread the news aboutthe New World throughout Europe. Even if we disregard the Native Americans who,most scientists believe, crossed over into North America from Asia during thelast Ice Age, there have been many parties taking credit for the initial explorationand some claims are still coming in. Among those to announce they werethe first and when include the Hebrews in around 1000 BC, members of theascetic Celtic Church in 770 AD, the Vikings in 990 AD, Basque fishermen,Africans, the Portuguese, Japanese, Amerigo Vespucci (thought to be the personAmerica is named after), and others. The most recent claim, that it was theChinese, was made by Gavin Menzies in his book 1421: The Year China DiscoveredAmerica, which was published in 2003.The truth is, we dont actuallyknow who first discovered America and well probably never know due toconflicting information and lack of scientific evidence.Flat vs. Round EarthContrary to popular belief, not everyonethought the earth was flat when Columbus set out on his first voyage. As amatter of fact, Greek philosophers proposed that the earth was spherical inshape back in the 6th century BC, though it remained just aphilosophical concept until the 3rd century BC when a new geocentricmodel of celestial motion was introduced into Greek astrology. Encouraged by Plato, a youngmathematician called Eudoxus of Cnidus proposed that the heavenly realm wasspherical in shape and consisted of multiple, rotating spheres that surroundedthe earth, which itself was motionless and spherical in shape. To Aristotle, Platos prizestudent, spherical earth wasnt just a theory -- it was definitive. Aristotle providedvalid scientific arguments about lunar eclipses, stars, etc. to support hisconclusion, but the one I like best was just a simple observation. He notedthat when a boat sails away from you, no matter in which direction, its hulldisappears from sight before its sails do. He concluded this must be due tocurvature, so the earth must be a sphere.Aristotle knew the earth wasround as he watched these boats sail into the horizon nearly 2,000 years beforeColumbus ever set sail on his voyages.Its noteworthy to mention that Aristarchusof Samos, Greek astronomer and mathematician, presented an alternate,heliocentric model which proposed that the sun, not the earth, was at thecenter of the universe, but this concept was not well received. It wasdisregarded for almost 1,800 years until the heliocentric theory was revived byCopernicus and modified by Isaac Newton and Johannes Kepler.World GlobesAlthough the art of makingterrestrial globes became popular, even extremely fashionable, from the 16thcentury, some were made long before then. You may think that since the Greekswere the first to entertain the idea of a round earth, maybe they were thefirst to make a globe. Youd probably be right. As far as we know, the firstterrestrial globe was constructed in 140 BC by a Greek named Cratos of Mallosin 140 BC. So even if there were people whobelieved the earth was flat until the 15th century, though less thanwe may think, there were also many who knew otherwise long, long beforeColumbus didnt discover America.
Round,Earth,Theory,World,Globe