2025/12/06 by Florian Dubath, Dubath, Florian, Maria Alice Gasparini +1 · 1 voice
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Experimental and Theoretical Physics Studies #FOS: Physical sciences #Geophysics (physics.geo-ph) #Geophysics and Sensor Technology #Physics Education (physics.ed-ph) #Radio Wave Propagation Studies #physics.ed-ph #physics.geo-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2512.06474
openalex publication_date 2025/12/06 · arxiv published 2025/12/06 · openalex created_date 2025/12/10 · arxiv updated 2026/04/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We present a classroom based activity using a sunrise photograph of Mont Blanc shadow taken from Geneva to estimate the Earth radius. By determining the direction of solar rays relative to the local vertical and accounting for atmospheric refraction, students can derive an upper bound approximately 70 percent above the accepted value. The discrepancy provides a concrete illustration of modelling assumptions and observational limitations. The activity combines geometric reasoning, basic trigonometry, and order of magnitude estimation, allowing students to obtain a physically meaningful result from simple observations. Beyond its quantitative aspects, the approach highlights essential elements of the scientific method, including hypothesis formulation, model construction, uncertainty analysis, and comparison with external data, offering a structured introduction to Nature of Science concepts within upper secondary STEM curricula.