Geodetic Research in Finland in the 20th Century

摘要

The Earth was considered to be a sphere until the end of the 17th century. Only then, the concept of an Earth flattened at the poles was beginning to gain support among scientists. A powerful influence in this respect had especially the Englishman Isaac Newton, who, in his opus Principia, appearing in 1687, described, based on his theoreti- Cal investigations, the Earth as flattened at the poles in a ratio of 1:230.