_Globes._[7]--It is impossible to represent on a plane the whole of the
earth's surface, or even a large extent of it, without a considerable
amount of distortion. On the other hand a map drawn on the surface of a
sphere representing a terrestrial globe will prove true to nature, for
it possesses, in combination, the qualities which the ingenuity of no
mathematician has hitherto succeeded in imparting to a projection
intended for a map of some extent, namely, equivalence of areas of
distances and angles. Nevertheless, it should be observed that our
globes take no account of the oblateness of our sphere; but as the
difference in length between the circumference of the equator and the
perimeter of a meridian ellipse only amounts to 0.16%, it could be shown
only on a globe of unusual size.
The method of manufacturing a globe is much the same as it was at the
beginning of the 16th century. A matrix of wood or iron is covered with
successive layers of papers, pasted together so as to form pasteboard.
The shell thus formed is then cut along the line of the intended equator
into two hemispheres, they are then again glued together and made to
revolve round an axis the ends of which passed through the poles and
entered a metal meridian circle. The sphere is then coated with plaster
or whiting, and when it has been smoothed on a lathe and dried, the
lines representing meridians and parallels are drawn upon it. Finally
the globe is covered with the paper gores upon which the map is drawn.
The adaption of these gores to the curvature of the sphere calls for
great care. Generally from 12 to 24 gores and two small segments for the
polar regions printed on vellum paper are used for each globe. The
method of preparing these gores was originally found empirically, but
since the days of Albert Dürer it has also engaged the minds of many
mathematicians, foremost among whom was Professor A. G. Kästner of
Göttingen. One of the best instructions for the manufacture of globes we
owe to Altmütter of Vienna.[8]
Larger globes are usually on a stand the top of which supports an
artificial horizon. The globe itself rotates within a metallic meridian
to which its axis is attached. Other accessories are an hour-circle,
around the north pole, a compass placed beneath the globe, and a
flexible quadrant used for finding the distances between places. These
accessories are indispensable if it be proposed to solve the problems
usually propounded in books on the "use of the globes," but can be
dispensed with if the globe is to serve only as a map of the world. The
size of a globe is usually given in terms of its diameter. To find its
scale divide the mean diameter of the earth (1,273,500 m.) by the
diameter of the globe; to find its circumference multiply the diameter
by [pi] (3.1416).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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