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Speaking of books.... A surveyor friend mentioned "The Great Arc" by John
Keay, and I've just finished it.  This book is about a horizontal and
vertical control survey for the entire country of  India.  The general
method used was a chain (several) of interlocking precisely formed and
measured triangles extending hundreds of miles east -west and north-south.

The survey started in 1800 or so and  was completed in the 1860s.  Talk
about survey crews facing adversity....tigers , disease, etc.  One of the
primary goals was to determine the north-south curvature of the globe. The
accuracy they achieved is really amazing considering the equipment they had
available.  The geopolitics of the British control of India relating to the
survey is quite intesting.  With this survey/control, the elevation of Mount
Everest was determined.  George Everest led the survey for decades.

Mike Burkes, you would probably enjoy this book.

Bruce Pennino

















----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard B. Langley" 
To: 
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2012 2:29 PM
Subject: [NavList] Heavenly Mathematics


>I don't think I have seen this book mentioned on NavList yet. I just  got a
>Princeton University Press notice about it and intend to order a  copy.
>
> It's available for CDN$23.16 from amazon.ca:
> http://www.amazon.ca/Heavenly-Mathematics-Forgotten-Spherical-Trigonometry/dp/0691148929
> and US$24.46 from amazon.com:
> http://www.amazon.com/Heavenly-Mathematics-Forgotten-Spherical-Trigonometry/dp/0691148929/
>
> You can see some pages of the book on the U.S. site.
>
> -- Richard Langley
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> | Richard B. Langley                            E-mail:  lang@unb.ca
> |
> | Geodetic Research Laboratory                  Web:
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> | Dept. of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering    Phone:    +1 506  453-5142
> |
> | University of New Brunswick                   Fax:      +1 506  453-4943
> |
> | Fredericton, N.B., Canada  E3B  5A3
> |
> |        Fredericton?  Where's that?  See: http:// www.fredericton.ca/
> |
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>

   

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