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7 answers

This is not a big deal. How did they draw the world map, when there was no aircraft?.

2006-11-23 08:03:23 · answer #1 · answered by liketoaskq 5 · 0 0

There are many clever ways to determine the location and distance of objects far from yourselve.

You can estimate the height of many objects using geometric and trignometric princples and optics to survey and measure lengths to very precise estimates.

Lets say you have a meter stick, you drive an unknown distance away. You then view the meter stick through the telescope. Since the length of the meterstick is known and the magnification of the telescope is known you can compute how far the other person drove based on how large the image of the meter stick is.

Another technique is intersection. Multiple survery teams equipped with precision telescopes and compasses deploy to various sites around the base of the mountain. The each align the marks of their telescopes with the peak. If the precise distance of the survey teams from each other is known and they carefully measure their angles to the peak, they can compute the height.

I hope that makes sense.

2006-11-23 02:11:17 · answer #2 · answered by Phillip 3 · 0 0

The British are a very tenacious people, who survyeyed the entire Indian subcontinent, including Everest, which is named after George Everest, one of the leaders of the survey:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Trigonometric_Survey
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everest#Measurement

Note that the measurements made from 150 miles from the mountain were shown to be accurate 0.1%.

2006-11-23 02:00:17 · answer #3 · answered by arbiter007 6 · 0 0

The scientific principles dictates that barometric pressure drops by 1 inch of mercury for every 1000 ft. of height from sea-level.

Therfore I would think that they would have used something similar. Even today that should be one of the best ways if can take both reading simultaneously at the top and bottom of the mountain with highly accurate digital electronic brometers ( communicating with wireless, of-course ).

2006-11-23 12:21:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

I would guess that sightings were taken using a surveyor's transit, and the results were fed into "spherical trigonometry" formulas (not into a computer).

2006-11-23 01:54:31 · answer #5 · answered by actuator 5 · 0 0

simple geometry. same way that find the length of a triangle

2006-11-23 01:54:58 · answer #6 · answered by usthath@sbcglobal.net 2 · 0 0

i think they did it with the use of trigonometric applications.

2006-11-23 01:50:40 · answer #7 · answered by cjain 3 · 0 0

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