Fun Facts – 10 October 2013

did you know wider
did you know wider

Fun Fact #1

Over 2000 years ago, Eratosthenes estimated the Earth's circumference and was accurate to within 2%. Eratosthenes was a Greek mathematician, geographer, poet, athlete, astronomer, and music theorist. He was also a pioneer in the realm of understanding.

He developed his own system of latitude and longitude and is credited with creating one of the first maps of the world with the known landmasses at the time.

Fun Fact #2

When you strike a match, the flame you get is shaped in a tear drop due to the way the burning gases interact with gravity.

Near the match head, a column of hot gas is created. This column is wider than the match itself. Hot gases have more energy than colder gases and can more easily resist the pull of gravity, so the column of hot gas starts to rise and it rises faster and faster.

Since the amount of gas is constant, as it rises faster, the column is stretched thinner. The result is a wide column near the match, and a thin column higher up.