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...a nice calculation
Distance to horizon in miles = 1.23 * sqrt(Ht_of_Eyes_in_ft)
Of course height of eyes is supposed to be height above a level surface stretching to the horizon, like the sea or a plain. I think I read this one in the Amateur Scientist column of Scientific American years ago... or perhaps it was one of the incarnations of that magazine's Mathematical Games column.
It is probably only meant to be rough. I mean the horizon would be closer at the equator than the poles because the Earth is bloated out around the equator due to its rotation. I wonder if it would make much difference.
It is a lovely thought, though, that you might be able to calculate the distance to the horizon knowing only your own height.
Of course height of eyes is supposed to be height above a level surface stretching to the horizon, like the sea or a plain. I think I read this one in the Amateur Scientist column of Scientific American years ago... or perhaps it was one of the incarnations of that magazine's Mathematical Games column.
It is probably only meant to be rough. I mean the horizon would be closer at the equator than the poles because the Earth is bloated out around the equator due to its rotation. I wonder if it would make much difference.
It is a lovely thought, though, that you might be able to calculate the distance to the horizon knowing only your own height.