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arXiv · 2201.00525

The gravitational potential energy of the Great Pyramid

Charles Hirlimann
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Abstract

The calculation of the energy required to raise a constituent block of the Khufu pyramid and the knowledge of the mechanical energy that a worker in charge of the lifting of the blocks can produce per working day allows an estimate of the minimum number of workers. necessary for the establishment of a base of the pyramid. It emerges that this number is limited to a maximum of less than 2,000 workers over a working season, ie less than 200 present each day simultaneously on the site. In addition, the calculation of the flow of blocks leads to the ineluctable conclusion that the construction could only be done in a massively parallel working mode, undermining the hypothesis very often put forward of the use of ramps to convey the blocks to their final destination.

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Charles Hirlimann. 2022-02-08. The gravitational potential energy of the Great Pyramid. https://arxiv.org/abs/2201.00525

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