Abstract
The French astronomerJean PICARD (1620–1682) was certainly one of the leading scientists of his time.
Friend of Huygens, of Hevelius, of Oldenburg, master of Römer, indefatigable traveller, he played a very important part in the development of positional astronomy and geodesy.
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- He first, had the idea of comparing the length units to a reproductible physical quantity, namely the length of the one second pendulum at Paris, and measured that length.
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- He conceived the first cross wire telescopes and adapted them on geodetic and astronomical instruments of his own, used throughout one century until 1780.
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- He obtained the first really reliable value of the earth radius, in his famous measurement of the meridional arc PARIS-AMIENS, being the original cell of the French triangulations.
The following article is devoted to a recomputation and evaluation of the accuracy of that work, as compared with further operations, but independently concludes that this achievement gave the necessary impulse to the development of geodesy in France and probably abroad.
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Bibliographie
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Levallois, J.J. La determination du rayon terrestre par J. PICARD en 1669–1671. Bull. Geodesique 57, 312–331 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02520936
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02520936