J. Dillon
03-07-2004, 05:48 PM
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid105/p06554fcf116e98373da5393b1d24072f/f97e2ebc.jpg
Johanna and JD on the line ( French version) Note the WB logo buckle
The start of our Equador Jungle, Galapagos adventure. A little history first.
In 1736, a French scientific expedition, the Mission Geodesica, traveled to this region of the Andes, then part of the Spanish colony of Gran Colombia, Today it is Equador. Their mission was an attempt to determine the exact location and circumference of the Equator. Using the best instrumentation available they succeeded in marking off this 0o of latitude
The French were not the first to determine the precise location of the Equator. Thirty-five hundred years ago, the ancient peoples of the Andes used this area to make precise astronomical observations as well. With no written language, they were nonetheless able to undertake a study of the heavens so thorough that they were able to fix the exact location of the Equator – more accurately even than the French team 3,300 years later, who were in fact off by some seven seconds (about 350 meters)! A stone circle on a nearby hilltop, long thought to be an old animal pen, was discovered to be, in fact, an ancient marker for the Equator.
Today, Marcelo Padilla, Director of Mitad del Mundo ("The Middle of the World") proudly displays his GPS displaying the 00o00'00" but about 900 feet to the south of the previously established French line. He has arranged an interesting array of his artsy open air museum in sharp contrast to the elaborate exhibit displaying busts of French scientists aligned along the line topped with a globe on a pyramid.
Marcelo proves his accuracy of the line by simple means as well as his Garmin GPS. A basin of water with a stopper sits over a bucket all located on the Equator. Marcello pulls the plug and the water drains directly below through a 1" hole with no turbulence. The basin , bucket and all is relocated about 1 meter to the North, filled once again, the plug pulled, the water drains but this time with a counter clock wise rotation. Now all is again moved 1 meter south. of the line, stopper pulled and the water drains with a clock wise swirl. The Coriolis effect.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid105/pedadca1d99947662e7c442904919a19f/f97e2ebf.jpg
I couldn't detect any tricks to the above experiment.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid105/pd8d9b948df9a67f7644785a093ad3a82/f97e2eb8.jpg
The true Equator acording to GPS.
JD
Johanna and JD on the line ( French version) Note the WB logo buckle
The start of our Equador Jungle, Galapagos adventure. A little history first.
In 1736, a French scientific expedition, the Mission Geodesica, traveled to this region of the Andes, then part of the Spanish colony of Gran Colombia, Today it is Equador. Their mission was an attempt to determine the exact location and circumference of the Equator. Using the best instrumentation available they succeeded in marking off this 0o of latitude
The French were not the first to determine the precise location of the Equator. Thirty-five hundred years ago, the ancient peoples of the Andes used this area to make precise astronomical observations as well. With no written language, they were nonetheless able to undertake a study of the heavens so thorough that they were able to fix the exact location of the Equator – more accurately even than the French team 3,300 years later, who were in fact off by some seven seconds (about 350 meters)! A stone circle on a nearby hilltop, long thought to be an old animal pen, was discovered to be, in fact, an ancient marker for the Equator.
Today, Marcelo Padilla, Director of Mitad del Mundo ("The Middle of the World") proudly displays his GPS displaying the 00o00'00" but about 900 feet to the south of the previously established French line. He has arranged an interesting array of his artsy open air museum in sharp contrast to the elaborate exhibit displaying busts of French scientists aligned along the line topped with a globe on a pyramid.
Marcelo proves his accuracy of the line by simple means as well as his Garmin GPS. A basin of water with a stopper sits over a bucket all located on the Equator. Marcello pulls the plug and the water drains directly below through a 1" hole with no turbulence. The basin , bucket and all is relocated about 1 meter to the North, filled once again, the plug pulled, the water drains but this time with a counter clock wise rotation. Now all is again moved 1 meter south. of the line, stopper pulled and the water drains with a clock wise swirl. The Coriolis effect.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid105/pedadca1d99947662e7c442904919a19f/f97e2ebf.jpg
I couldn't detect any tricks to the above experiment.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid105/pd8d9b948df9a67f7644785a093ad3a82/f97e2eb8.jpg
The true Equator acording to GPS.
JD