An Ancient Relation between Units of Length and Volume Based on a Sphere

The modern metric system defines units of volume based on the cube. We propose that the ancient Egyptian system of measuring capacity employed a similar concept, but used the sphere instead. When considered in ancient Egyptian units, the volume of a sphere, whose circumference is one royal cubit, equals half a hekat. Using the measurements of large sets of ancient containers as a database, the article demonstrates that this formula was characteristic of Egyptian and Egyptian-related pottery vessels but not of the ceramics of Mesopotamia, which had a different system of measuring length and volume units

Failure and Imperfections of Artisinal Knowledge in the Early Modern Period

Artisanal textual practices are strategies to deal with the uncertainty of artisanal processes and the whims of materials. Confronted with the precarious nature of artisanal knowledge, variation had always been the most important strategy of error management. Following the dissatisfaction with ways of writing down knowledge, hiding the imperfection of the process of knowledge production and in response to the limits of language in articulating skills, the codification of error emerged as a new strategy in the seventeenth century, pointing to a new conception of the epistemic value of failure and error in the early modern arts and sciences

Optimierung der Kombination einer Fischer-Tropsch-Synthese mit einer Kohlehydrierung zum Zwecke der Produktion von Motorkraftstoffen Abschlussbericht. Abschlussdatum: Dezember 1978

SIGLEDEGerman

Egyptian Architecture and Mathematics

An analysis of the relationship between mathematics and architecture in ancient Egypt requires, first of all, an analysis of the terms involved in the discussion. Mathematics, mathematicians, architecture, and architect are modern terms that convey a range of meanings that may or may not find a precise correspondence in the ancient Egyptian culture. Textual, iconographic, and archaeological sources provide a significant amount of pieces of the puzzle representing the complex task of building a monument, and yet some important aspects still remain unclear. Mathematical knowledge was deeply intertwined with the architectural practice, but defining its nature and boundaries is not easy. The extant mathematical texts are schoolbooks and cast a relatively limited light on the way in which numbers and geometrical figures were used in the planning and building process; in particular, it is difficult to establish who decided the shape and the dimensions of the buildings and of their architectural elements. The overall impression is that building a monument was a collective enterprise, carried out by a long line of individuals, the majority of whom remained anonymous