Title |
An Ancient Relation between Units of Length and Volume Based on a Sphere
|
---|---|
Published in |
PLOS ONE, March 2012
|
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0033895 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Elena Zapassky, Yuval Gadot, Israel Finkelstein, Itzhak Benenson |
Abstract |
The modern metric system defines units of volume based on the cube. We propose that the ancient Egyptian system of measuring capacity employed a similar concept, but used the sphere instead. When considered in ancient Egyptian units, the volume of a sphere, whose circumference is one royal cubit, equals half a hekat. Using the measurements of large sets of ancient containers as a database, the article demonstrates that this formula was characteristic of Egyptian and Egyptian-related pottery vessels but not of the ceramics of Mesopotamia, which had a different system of measuring length and volume units. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 4 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Chile | 1 | 25% |
Australia | 1 | 25% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 25% |
United States | 1 | 25% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Members of the public | 4 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 15 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Italy | 1 | 7% |
Unknown | 14 | 93% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Student > Ph. D. Student | 5 | 33% |
Professor | 2 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 2 | 13% |
Student > Postgraduate | 2 | 13% |
Student > Doctoral Student | 1 | 7% |
Other | 4 | 27% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Arts and Humanities | 5 | 33% |
Social Sciences | 3 | 20% |
Engineering | 3 | 20% |
Psychology | 1 | 7% |
Mathematics | 1 | 7% |
Other | 2 | 13% |