Abstract
In this chapter the ancient device to measure slopes and distances are presented. Most of them belong to the Greek-Roman era. These devices, despite their simplicity, were surprisingly accurate; in fact, they permitted to realize the surprising roads, bridges, tunnels, aqueducts, buildings etc. of the antiquity. Then the astrolabe is also briefly described. Some examples of how did these devices work are also presented.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rossi, C., Russo, F. (2017). Measuring Distance and Slope. In: Ancient Engineers' Inventions. History of Mechanism and Machine Science, vol 33. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44476-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44476-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44475-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44476-5
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)