The earth has the shape of a ball. This was finally proven when artificial satellites flew around the Earth in all directions. They received photographs of the Earth, clearly showing the convexity of the earth's surface (Fig. 33).
Parts of the world, oceans, seas, rivers, mountains and other geographical objects are marked on the globe. On the globe you can see that most of earth's surface occupy the oceans. There are four oceans: Quiet, Indian, Atlantic, Arctic.
Huge areas of land, washed on all sides by the waters of the oceans, are called continents or continents. There are six continents on the globe: Eurasia, North America , South America , Africa, Antarctica, Australia.
A continent or part of a continent together with nearby islands is called a part of the world. There are six parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia, Antarctica. As you can see, on one continent of Eurasia there are two parts of the world: Europe and Asia. The conventional border between these parts of the world is drawn along the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, north of the Caucasus Mountains along the Kuma-Manych depression, and the Black Sea.
The first globes were created back in Ancient Greece. During the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries in 1492, the first globe that has survived to this day was created. It showed only the continents of the Old World. As you study various parts Earth, more and more accurate globes were created.
If the globe is cut in half along one of the meridians, you will get two hemispheres, each of which will depict half of the surface of the globe.
It is more convenient to use such hemispheres, since you can immediately see the surface of the entire globe. On the globe, only the part that faces the observer is visible. If the hemispheres are shown on a plane, on paper, then this will be a map of the hemispheres, which is placed in atlases.
But it is impossible to depict a hemisphere on a plane without it crumpling into folds and, in some places, tearing apart. True, you can cut the globe along the meridians into shares (Fig. 35) and make a map from these shares (Fig. 36). It is clear that distortions are inevitable on such a map, and they increase in the direction from the Equator to the poles. Therefore, when you need to find out the distance between two points, it is advisable to do this using a globe, since it almost exactly repeats the shape of the Earth.
The degree grid (parallels and meridians) are conditional lines; they do not exist on the very surface of the Earth. They are carried out on a map and globe so that one can accurately indicate where one or another is located. geographical feature where the travelers are. Meridians and parallels help navigate, that is, determine your position on the ground and on the map in relation to the sides of the horizon. Parallels and meridians are located perpendicular to each other.
Conventional lines of the poles, equator, tropics and polar circles are also drawn on globes and maps. There is also a conventional date line.
Degree grid
December 22, V day winter solstice , the sun's rays fall vertically down over Southern Tropic— parallel to 23.5° S, and the Sun does not set over Southern Arctic Circle at latitude 66.5° S. It's summer in the Southern Hemisphere. The sun does not appear above the Antarctic Circle on June 22, in winter Southern Hemisphere. Twice a year, 21 March And 23 September, the rays of the Sun fall vertically down over the equator and uniformly illuminate the Earth from pole to pole. In these days of spring and autumn equinox day and night last 12 hours everywhere.
It is believed that the first globe was invented by the ancient Greek philosopher Crates of Malossos, who drew a map on the ball. At that time, many scientists assumed that the earth was round, but, of course, the map on the ball was inaccurate. The name comes from the Latin word for ball. Introducing Interesting Facts about the globe.
Earth apple
The next globe was a ball with a map drawn up by Portuguese navigators. The globe was created by Martin Beheim in 1492 in Nuremberg (it is still kept in the museum of this city). The diameter of the “earth apple,” as contemporaries called it, was about half a meter. There was no America on the balloon, there was also no numbering indicating longitude and latitude, but there were the tropics, the equator, and it was marked on the map short description countries
This cartographic product was planned to be replicated in print, but this idea was never realized. The globe model was supposed to advertise the achievements of Portuguese navigators and attract merchant investment to finance future expeditions.
Martin Beheim was the customer for the product. It was created by different masters - a mathematics teacher who taught in Nuremberg covered a clay ball with glue and glued a fabric base. The artist Geogr Glockendon drew the map based on a plan of the earth's surface that Behaim acquired in Portugal. Glocedon divided the map into 24 segments and marked the north and south poles.
There are many inaccuracies on the map - there is no America, but there is Europe, Asia (with numerous Asian islands), Africa. Probably, the map of the Florentine scientist Paolo Toscanelli was taken as a basis. The existence of America as a separate continent was not yet known at that time; America appeared only on the map of Martin Waldseemüller, which was published in 1507.
The “Earth Apple” was exhibited in the Nuremberg Town Hall until the 16th century. Then the globe was kept in the Beheim family. Since 1907 it has been an exhibit of the German national museum city of Nuremberg.
The largest globe was created by the cartographic company Delorme, which, in addition to creating maps, takes part in the development of GPS navigators. The diameter of the largest model of the globe is 12.6 meters, the same height as a four-story house.
The map consists of 792 pieces that are bolted to a large frame of six thousand aluminum tubes. This large exhibit is located in Yarmouth (USA) in a building with a transparent glass wall. IN dark time day, the map is illuminated from the inside. This product was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1999 as the largest globe.
The scale is 1 to 1 million, that is, one kilometer is one kilometer. The map is quite accurate, there are main roads and even neighborhoods of large cities. The globe is tilted at an angle of 23 degrees—the same angle that planet Earth is tilted at. Two motors rotate the ball; a full revolution is completed in 18 minutes. Depending on the situation, the rotation speed can be accelerated or slowed down.
The previous record holder was a globe located in the city of Pesaro (Italy). Its diameter is 2.74 meters smaller.
Interesting information
The globe gives general idea O appearance and the relative position of geographical objects (continents, oceans, islands), but is not an accurate model of the Earth, since the shape of our planet is not a perfect sphere. From the equator to the center of the earth the distance is 22 kilometers greater than from the equator to the pole. Due to constant rotation, the Earth became slightly flattened, this geometric shape was given the name “geoid”. It is very difficult to make a globe of this shape, since the difference in the distance from the center of the globe to the pole and the equator, if the product were in the shape of a geoid, would be tenths of a millimeter, so they simply make a ball.
Difference from the map:
- The globe has a small scale; the map depicts the area in more detail.
- There are no distortions on the globe; the map slightly distorts the location and area of objects, since the Earth is round, and the map is flat and the continents and oceans are presented in an “expanded” form.
- To measure distance on a globe, you need to use a flexible ruler.
- On a spherical map, you can use point lighting to show the change of day and night; on a more complex model, you can demonstrate the change of seasons.
- The map is more convenient, since it can be folded, hung on the wall and it will take up less space.
One of the greatest discoveries in geography is the invention of the globe, with the help of which it is easier to remember the location of oceans, seas, continents, islands, tropical forests, icy deserts, etc. Subsequently, this amazing object was improved by numerous scientists around the world. It has its own ancient and quite fascinating history.
Who created the first globe? Passions still rage around this invention.
What is a globe?
Globe from the Latin word globus means ball.
This is an image of a map on the surface of a ball, preserving the similarity of the contours and the ratio of sizes (areas). There are different geographical globes that display the surface of the Earth, the lunar surface, celestial globes, etc.
Before the idea of a spherical object appeared, the first celestial globes had already been created. These spherical images of the starry sky were already known in Ancient Egypt.
History of the globe
The first globe appeared before our era (2nd century), and it was created by one inventor who was very fond of poetry. It was a learned philologist-philosopher named Crates of Malos. He could listen to the poem “The Odyssey” for days, and often after listening to it, he would plot on the map all the routes he had walked. main character. And at that time it was already known about the spherical shape of the earth, so he painted the ball.
Although this object corresponded to the level of knowledge of those times, it was a real globe. It was well appreciated by his contemporaries, but for several centuries, who was the author of the first globe was forgotten.
In 1492, another globe was created in Nuremberg (Germany) to visually depict the geographical discoveries of Portuguese sailors. Thus, the scientist received the title of the first inventor of the globe.
That globe was called the “Earth Apple.” It represented a ball made of metal, no more than 50 cm in diameter. It should be noted that the continent of America was not yet on it, due to its discovery by Columbus at a later time. Also, there were no latitudes and longitudes on the globe yet, but there were tropics and meridians, and there was a short description of the countries. Now the first globe (1492) is kept in the Nuremberg Museum.
From those ancient times to the present day it has been created a large number of the most unique, even unexpected, globes with amazing sizes, designs and materials. But two of these specimens cannot be ignored here: the largest and the most unusual and the oldest.
Who created the first globe - the largest in the world
The American company DeLorme has created a giant globe called Eartha. This organization develops maps and GPS navigation systems.
The diameter of the globe is 12.6 meters, which is the height of a 4-story building. Now this unique creation is located in the city of Yarmouth in America.
The giant globe consists of 792 map fragments fastened together with hidden bolts on a large frame. Last element was built from 6 thousand aluminum pipes. The special feature of this magnificent structure is that it is housed in a glass building and is illuminated from the inside, which gives it an extraordinary appearance.
This masterpiece is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
American oldest globe
Who created the first globe in America? The next similar item described here is also the oldest.
Scientists have established that it is made from halves of an ostrich egg glued together with shellac (a natural polymer). The card itself is carved into the shell.
But to the question of who created the first globe depicting America, we can answer that this is unknown. Why?
The globe, made from a huge ostrich egg, is the first to depict America, and it has survived to this day. But install the exact date and its creator failed, due to the absence of any signs and signatures on the object.
Scientists have an assumption that this globe was created in the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci, since there are certain sketches characteristic of the works of the great artist. This item depicts continents signed in Latin, various animals, and even a man-sailor who was shipwrecked.
Dr. Missinet (philologist and map collector) believes that the find dates back to 1504.
Celestial globe
Who created the first celestial globe? Many versions exist. For example, in Naples there is a statue of Atlas (marble), dating back to the 3rd century BC. On his shoulders the hero holds a sphere with the image of constellations. There is an opinion that it also has a prototype - the globe of Eudoxus of Cnidus (Greek astronomer).
However, existing information about the existence of Earth globes in the ancient period is not entirely reliable. This means that there are still many reasons for controversy on this matter.
The invention of the globe is one of the greatest geographical discoveries. With its help, it is easier to remember the locations of continents and oceans, islands and seas, tropical forests and icy deserts. This item was created and improved by many scientists around the world. It has its own history, interesting and very ancient.
History of the globe
In Latin, globe means ball. We came up with it twice. The first time the inventor was attracted by love was not geography at all, but poetry, and this happened before our era, in the 2nd century.
Who invented the globe? The philosopher and philologist, Crates of Malos, could listen to the poem “Odyssey” all day long, and then plot the routes of the main character on the map. But this was not enough for Crates, because at that time it was already known that the earth has round shape. He took and painted the ball. It was he who first invented the globe.
This globe corresponded to the level of knowledge of that time, but still it was a real globe. Contemporaries appreciated his invention, but after a few centuries, descendants forgot Crates's globe.
Secondly, a copy of the earth was invented in 1492 in the city of Nuremberg. It was created to clearly show geographical discoveries Portuguese sailors.
The title of inventor was awarded to the scientist Martin Behaim. This globe was called the “Earthly Apple” - a metal ball no more than half a meter in diameter. There was no America on it yet, since the discovery of Columbus took place much later. There were no indications of latitude and longitude, but there were meridians and tropics, as well as a brief description of the countries. Now the very first globe is carefully kept in the Nuremberg Museum.
A great many globes of the most unexpected sizes have been created from different materials and designs. But there are two instances that cannot be ignored.
The largest globe in the world
A giant globe with the name Eartha was created by DeLorme, a company that develops maps and GPS navigation systems. Its diameter is 12.6 meters, which is comparable to a four-story building. This creation is located in the USA, in the city of Yarmouth.
The globe consists of 792 map fragments. All of them are secured with hidden bolts on a huge frame constructed from 6 thousand aluminum pipes. But its highlight is not only its scale. It is housed in a glass building, and at night it is illuminated from the inside - it is a truly memorable sight.
On weekdays, anyone can take a picture of themselves against the backdrop of a huge world map. In addition, the masterpiece is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
America's Oldest Globe
Scientists have found that the globe is made from two halves of an ostrich egg, glued together with a natural polymer (shellac). The map is carved on eggshells, and the carving itself is covered with blue paint. It was not possible to accurately identify the creator; there were no signatures on the item. Researchers suggest that the globe is related to the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci. There are sketches that are reminiscent of his work. It depicts: continents signed in Latin, various animals and even a shipwrecked sailor.
Map collector and philologist Dr. Missinet dates the find to 1504. And according to him, this globe is the first of those on which America was marked, and which has survived to this day.