285: Chapter 285: The height of the pyramids is the distance from the Earth to the Sun...

Inside a physics professor's dormitory at Huaqing University, Guan Jingming suddenly turned to look at Li Mo. "Calculate it!"

Without a word, Li Mo opened his computer and pulled up the detailed data for the Pyramid of Khufu. The perimeter of the base was approximately 931.1 meters, and the height before erosion was approximately 148.2 meters.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard: "931.14 meters divided by 2, divided by 148.2."

The result popped up on the screen: 3.1415.

Li Mo paused, adjusted the data precision, and recalculated. This time, he used more accurate archaeological survey data: Base perimeter: 931.1 meters. Height: 148.21 meters.

The result: 3.14159.

Upon calculating this, Li Mo gasped, saying with an incredulous expression, "It's 3.1415, a full two thousand two hundred years earlier than Archimedes; it's correct!"

Li Mo added, "Considering that thousands of years have passed, both the side length and height would have eroded. I used the data for what the Pyramid likely was at the very beginning, not the values in 2026, but extrapolated back to the moment the Pyramid was built. Time passes, and some erosion is inevitable, but regardless, 3.14159 is absolutely the number for the Pyramid!"

As he finished speaking, Ouyang Baili, Professor Wu Ming, and Guan Jingming leaned in to stare at the screen, their faces full of astonishment.

At Gusu High School, in the principal's office, Principal Fu suddenly turned to look at Ren Xiaoyao. "Xiao Ren, calculate it!"

Ren Xiaoyao did not hesitate, opened the calculator on his phone, pulled up the data for the Pyramid of Khufu, and performed the calculation using the perimeter and height from thousands of years ago.

A moment later, he looked up in a daze, unable to believe it. "3.1415, it really is 3.1415!"

Old Wang and Xiao Wang leaned over to look at the screen, then exchanged glances and immediately gasped.

Principal Fu couldn't help but swallow hard. "A structure from 2560 BC, with Pi calculated to four decimal places—this is just too inconceivable!"

His first instinct was that it was unreasonable. His second instinct was that it could be reasonable!

Elsewhere, in Beijing, inside Qingfeng Temple, Zheng Ming stared at the big screen in astonishment, his expression shifting uncertainly. He turned to look at Jin Xianmeng. "Brother Jin, you calculate it, hurry up and calculate it!"

Jin Xianmeng had already taken out his phone and found the data for the Pyramid of Khufu.

A short while later, his finger trembled, his pupils constricted sharply, and he hissed, "Sss~"

He gasped, freezing in place.

"How much? What is it exactly?!"

Jin Xianmeng slowly turned the phone screen toward him: 3.1416.

Zheng Ming stared at the number, his face full of shock and disbelief. "How is this possible? How can this be?"

Jin Xianmeng put down his phone, narrowed his eyes, and said in a complex tone, "A structure from 2560 BC, with Pi calculated to four decimal places; yet Archimedes, who is recognized as the first to propose Pi, lived in 287 BC..."

"It's over two thousand two hundred years earlier."

Zheng Ming was completely stunned.

After watching, Celestial Master Zhang was also stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but smile broadly. "The Ancient Egyptians knew about Pi more than two thousand years before Archimedes, and they even calculated it to two more decimal places—interesting, very interesting!"

"This knowledge really looks quite profound!"

Zheng Ming, however, looked conflicted, his brows furrowed. "Why would this be?"

"Could it be that the Ancient Egyptians knew about Pi long ago, but just didn't make it public?"

"Even in ancient times, in our own country, knowledge was kept secret and wasn't easily passed down."

"For example, the Gongshu school, the Mohists, and the various other schools of thought were actually the sciences of ancient times, and they all kept their knowledge secret from one another."

"Yes, that's it, that must be it; the Ancient Egyptians discovered Pi themselves, they just didn't spread it, and it has nothing to do with Atlantis!"

Jin Xianmeng, listening from the side, couldn't help but nod in agreement. "Brother Zheng's explanation is very consistent with reality. I also don't believe what this J says—that Ancient Egyptian technology might have come from Atlantis; something like Pi can definitely be discovered on one's own; it doesn't require the legacy of a super-ancient technological civilization."

"Moreover, the mathematical level of Ancient Egypt was not low to begin with; a civilization capable of building the Pyramids finding Pi is not strange."

The two exchanged glances, and their moods finally eased.

Just then, Xiaoyu's voice came from the big screen. "Big Brother, is there more? Besides Pi being two thousand years earlier than Archimedes, is there anything else?"

In the living room, Xiaoyu stared at Jiang Zhe with sparkling eyes, full of anticipation, or perhaps nine-tenths anticipation.

Jiang Zhe put down his cola, picked up the tablet on the table, opened a drawing app, and casually sketched a simple diagram. Then he turned the screen toward Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu, look at this."

On the screen was a simple outline of the Pyramid of Khufu, with a line of numbers labeled next to it: 148.7 meters ~ 149.5 meters.

"This is the original height of the Pyramid of Khufu. Of course, due to weathering and erosion, the top has lost about 8 meters. What is certain is that when it was first built, its height must have been in the range of 148.7 ~ 149.5 meters; let's take an average value of 149 meters."

Xiaoyu stared at the number and couldn't help but ask, "148.7 ~ 149.5 meters, what is the significance of this? It doesn't seem like anything special, right?"

Jiang Zhe's mouth curled slightly, but he didn't speak, just looked at Xiaoyu quietly.

At this moment, the viewers in the stream were also full of confusion.

"What's up with this number? Isn't it just the height?"

"Yeah, what's so special about it?"

"That smile from Big Brother definitely implies something."

"..."

At Huaqing University, in the physics professor's dormitory, Ouyang Baili stared at the 149 meters on the screen, his brows furrowed. "Taking the average gives 149 meters, what's wrong with this number?"

Professor Wu Ming was also confused. "Isn't this just the height? What's the significance?"

Guan Jingming analyzed it for a good while before shaking his head. "I can't see it either."

Li Mo, however, said, "There is nothing special about the data; it's not a prime number, nor is it any kind of constant."

... In Beijing, at Qingfeng Temple, Zheng Ming stared at the 149 meters on the screen with a suspicious look. "149, what's there to talk about with this?"

Jin Xianmeng also frowned, pondering the possibilities. "149 meters has no direct relationship with astronomical constants, and it doesn't match the Earth's radius or the scale of the Solar System."

"I have no idea!"

Celestial Master Zhang said thoughtfully, "In our Taoist tradition, we emphasize the correspondence between heaven and earth, and that all things have a number. Perhaps this number is related to the heavens?"

Zheng Ming was a bit speechless. "Celestial Master Zhang, we are not outsiders; there's no need to be mystical. It's just a height, what kind of mystery could there be?"

If Professor Zhang Qinian and Director Wang from the National Astronomical Observatory were watching, they would surely have known the meaning of this number on the spot. Unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by work tonight and were not constantly glued to the livestream.

Elsewhere, in Beijing, at the faculty housing of the University of History, Professor Chen Runzhi looked at the three men. "149 meters, can anyone tell me what the meaning is?"

Qian Mingyi shook his head. "No impression. There are many theories about the height of the Pyramid, and 149 meters is indeed a very average figure."

As an ecologist, Professor Liu Guangyi was not very familiar with these things. "Could it be related to some astronomical unit, like the Earth's circumference or something?"

Professor Wang Shouren put his hand on old Liu's shoulder. "The Earth's equatorial circumference is forty thousand kilometers; this is way off."

The four professors pondered for a long time, but came up with nothing.

At Gusu High School, in the principal's office, Old Wang, Principal Fu, and Xiao Wang were also at a loss.

When Principal Fu stood up to look at Ren Xiaoyao, who was standing in front of the big screen, he was curious. "Xiao Ren, what are you doing? You're blocking me."

At this moment, Ren Xiaoyao was staring intensely at the 149 meters on the screen, his eyes suddenly flashing with brilliance.

"Perhaps, I know!"

The three looked at him in unison.

"What?"

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, about to speak.

However, at that same instant, Jiang Zhe's voice came from the big screen, interrupting Ren Xiaoyao's revelation.

"Xiaoyu, let me ask you a question. Do you know what the distance from the Earth to the Sun is?"

Hearing this, Ren Xiaoyao swallowed hard, feeling somewhat unwilling. He clearly knew the answer, but for the sake of the program's effect, he did not tell Principal Fu and the other two in advance.

Xiaoyu paused. "I remember it's about 150 million kilometers, but I don't remember the exact number."

Jiang Zhe smiled slightly and handed the tablet to Xiaoyu. "Search for it yourself and see."

Xiaoyu took the tablet, opened a search engine, and typed in a few words.

The Earth-Sun distance popped up on the tablet. She glanced at the number and read it out: "The average distance from the Earth to the Sun is about 149.6 million kilometers."

"And what is that converted into meters?"

Xiaoyu operated the tablet again. "149.6 million kilometers equals 149,600,000,000 meters."

She looked up, feeling curious. She had no idea why her big brother wanted her to calculate this.

Jiang Zhe's mouth curled slightly, his smile carrying a hint of profound meaning. "Xiaoyu, look at the original height of the Pyramid of Khufu again. The average value is 149 meters."

Xiaoyu looked down at another page on the tablet, the one she had opened when searching for information on the Pyramid. It read: Pyramid of Khufu, original height approximately 149 meters.

Xiaoyu stared at this number, then looked at the long string of numbers next to it. 149,600,000,000 meters.

Seemingly having discovered something, her beautiful eyes instantly narrowed, and then her fingers began tapping on the tablet.

149 x 1,000,000,000 = 149,000,000,000.

149,000,000,000 meters = 149,000,000 kilometers.

Seeing this, an incredible thought emerged in her mind. Two numbers: one was 149,000,000 kilometers, and the other was 149,600,000 kilometers.

"No, I must have calculated it wrong!" She lowered her head in shock and recalculated it again. The result was the same.

Xiaoyu's beautiful eyes widened instantly. She looked up at Jiang Zhe, her face full of shock. "Big Brother, 149 meters multiplied by one billion equals the distance from the Earth to the Sun?"

"No matter what unit of measurement the Ancient Egyptians used, the final result is..."

"The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 1 billion times the height of the Pyramid."

"Is this a coincidence, or..."

As she said this, she couldn't help but cover her mouth, tears of slight fear flashing in her beautiful eyes.

Jiang Zhe nodded gently upon hearing this.

At this moment, Xiaoyu was completely stunned, and in the livestream, the hundreds of thousands of comments suddenly disappeared.