Ebook Practical Geometry

The Science of Geometry, as its name suggests, is of great antiquity. The name, Geometry, is derived from two Greek roots, Ge the Earth, and Metron a measure, and it is clear that In the earliest period Of which we have any record Of the use of Geometry, it was used for Earth measurement, or Land-surveying, as we should now term it According to Greek historians Geometry originated in Egypt as early as 600 b.c., and was used for the measurement of land, or for readjusting the boundaries of the various provinces which had been inundated by the over?ow of the Nile. Thales, who lived in Egypt from 639 b.c. To 548 b.c., taught his fellow-countrymen how to calculate the height of an Obelisk by measuring the length of its shadow. Pythagoras, Archimedes, and Euclid, carried on the study of certain branches of the Science, and much Of our more practical work in Geometry to-day is based upon the principles which they established in a somewhat abstract manner.