How about pretending it's today and telling that the earth isn't flat? At night, call someone in China and ask if it's night there. If the world is flat, everyone has daytime at the same time.
You wont get that here. You are asking a legit/honest question and people are just downvoting or throwing shit at you. They believe in things, yet cannot explain/back up what they believe in. The comments in this post are pretty entertaining. I should note, I'm not a FE'r just someone who entertains all ideas and am looking for knowledge.
The Erathosthenes experiment does not prove a round earth. He is making the ASSUMPTION that the sun is millions of miles away. https://youtu.be/fk_NzMejP-0
If you critically think about it there is no way that the sun is millions of miles away. It's much closer than we've been told. It has been measured with sextants to be approx 3000 miles away.
I get the last bit but how can you seriously entertain for 1 second that the Earth is not curved. It's an absurd concept. Not that it shouldn't be talked about, but seriously.
with a telescope you can see other planets are spherical, if you still believe that Earth is flat or anything other than spherical, then i dont know what to say because that would make Earth the only planet know in the universe that isnt spherical. Also, if you believe in gravity, then Spherical is the only option because Gravity wouldnt favor a flat or concave/hollow earth, it would in fact begin to bend and tear a flat earth apart. The best is to see other celestial bodies and then ask yourself if earth is the only flat body we can find and then ask yourself why that is and how its possible.
These and several more or more than enough to convince you otherwise. If you cannot do enough research to convince yourself of this, then start studying astronomy and physics.
I put a stake into the ground at high noon in some city on or near the equator at the Spring Equinox. I measure the length of the shadow. (it should be non-existent)
I travel north or south a significant distance, over 1,000 miles and wait one year. On the Spring Equinox, I plant my stake at noon and measure the shadow. There should be some shadow to measure because the sun is no longer directly over head like it would be on the equator.
The Greeks knew about this in Ancient history and even did this experiment.
If you look up into the sky with a telescope you can clearly see that the celestial bodies are roughly spheres and if you monitor them over time you see they move in circles. You can even just look up at the sun and moon and see their spherical shapes/circular motion.
Now ask yourself, what's more likely:
1.) The earth defied the laws of physics, somehow formed a flat plane, and everything is an illusion to throw us off the truth.
2.) The earth looks and acts just like every other celestial body you've ever seen. Mainstream astronomy/physics aren't just tools of disinformation. We actually live on a somewhat spherical rock in space.
2.) The earth looks and acts just like every other celestial body you've ever seen. Mainstream astronomy/physics aren't just tools of disinformation. We actually live on a somewhat spherical rock in space.
aha! so the earth isn't completely round after all.. /s
You can also just imagine what happens to water or other liquids in the vacuum of space. I don't know what flat earth says about lava/magma and the earth's layers/core, but if it were formed from these molten materials like we imagine it would similarly form a spherical shape like water does in space. That's why they design special cups for the ISS, in regular cups the surface tension breaks too easily and the water floats up and forms a ball if left undisturbed.
The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the Church. ~ Robert G. Ingersoll Quoting Ferdinand Magellan - no citation
The real answer is spherical trigonometry. If you draw a triangle on a sphere, you’ll get positive curvature, meaning the angles will add to more than 180 degrees. The amount it’s over 180 degrees gives you insight into the size and exact shape of the sphere. That’s how they knew, way back in Newton’s time, that the earth had a bulge at the equator. Unfortunately, the math goes a little beyond what most people are comfortable with. Here are a few other things you can do with some easier math to prove the shape of the earth.
What angle should the sun or moon be at? Construct a right triangle where one end of the hypotenuse is at your location, and the other is at the sun, with the third point on the surface of the flat earth directly below the sun. You can then use trigonometry to determine the angle we should expect the sun to be at. Arctan (tan-1 ) of the ratio of the altitude of the sun over the horizontal distance to the sun (the point on the earth the sun is over). You'll find that, despite the "law of perspective", you'll be hard pressed to get the sun below 10 degrees above the horizon without making shapes that won't fit on the earth.
Why do the stars rotate in circles? If the stars are in a dome and rotating together, it would explain what we see from the north pole. However, as we move south, we start to view these circular paths at an angle. The greater the angle, the more elliptical their paths should appear. You can also use the trick above (reworked to input the angle, rather than output the angle) to predict the height of the north star, but different latitudes will give different heights, with a height of 0 at the equator for the north star.
Why does everyone observe the same side of the moon, even if they should be on opposite sides? If you're not afraid of trigonometry, you can even calculate how different of an angle two people should see at moon rise and moon set.
Most of these should be easy enough, if you've taken high school level trigonometry. If you're a little shaky on the trig, I'd recommend walking through Khan academy or something comparable with your dad.
Ships disappearing hull first on the horizon... wait, no that's just perspective.
The sun rising and setting... wait, no that would work the same on a flat earth.
Focault's pendulums! ... wait no those are a total fraud that don't even work "right" half the time.
Coriolis effect!.. wait, toilets spin in opposite directions in the same house, and how can it be a problem for bullets but not airplanes.
Circumnavigation.... no that works in either model, at least east-west.
I'm afraid without Neil Degrass Tyson we'd all be Flat Earthers
28 comments
6 ihbarddx 2016-07-06
How about pretending it's today and telling that the earth isn't flat? At night, call someone in China and ask if it's night there. If the world is flat, everyone has daytime at the same time.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
2 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
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3 jgreenz 2016-07-06
Ok so explain lunar eclipses using this model/animation.
1 ihbarddx 2016-07-06
OK. Even if this worked (and I don't actually think it does) wouldn't the shadows go round 360 degrees every day?
5 luckinator 2016-07-06
Let's pretend flat earth trolls don't exist.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
2 Putin_loves_cats 2016-07-06
You wont get that here. You are asking a legit/honest question and people are just downvoting or throwing shit at you. They believe in things, yet cannot explain/back up what they believe in. The comments in this post are pretty entertaining. I should note, I'm not a FE'r just someone who entertains all ideas and am looking for knowledge.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 -INFOWARS- 2016-07-06
Erathosthenes experiment. Google it. It's very simple.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 eschaton777 2016-07-06
The Erathosthenes experiment does not prove a round earth. He is making the ASSUMPTION that the sun is millions of miles away. https://youtu.be/fk_NzMejP-0
If you critically think about it there is no way that the sun is millions of miles away. It's much closer than we've been told. It has been measured with sextants to be approx 3000 miles away.
1 -INFOWARS- 2016-07-06
I get the last bit but how can you seriously entertain for 1 second that the Earth is not curved. It's an absurd concept. Not that it shouldn't be talked about, but seriously.
3 DoYouEvenBrewBro 2016-07-06
with a telescope you can see other planets are spherical, if you still believe that Earth is flat or anything other than spherical, then i dont know what to say because that would make Earth the only planet know in the universe that isnt spherical. Also, if you believe in gravity, then Spherical is the only option because Gravity wouldnt favor a flat or concave/hollow earth, it would in fact begin to bend and tear a flat earth apart. The best is to see other celestial bodies and then ask yourself if earth is the only flat body we can find and then ask yourself why that is and how its possible.
0 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 DoYouEvenBrewBro 2016-07-06
well thank you
2 Chasethelogic 2016-07-06
1.) Behavior of lunar shadows (e.g. Eclipses)
2.) Sun rise and sun set on the horizon.
3.) Constellation location movement
These and several more or more than enough to convince you otherwise. If you cannot do enough research to convince yourself of this, then start studying astronomy and physics.
2 Grecco_Roman_Fire 2016-07-06
I put a stake into the ground at high noon in some city on or near the equator at the Spring Equinox. I measure the length of the shadow. (it should be non-existent)
I travel north or south a significant distance, over 1,000 miles and wait one year. On the Spring Equinox, I plant my stake at noon and measure the shadow. There should be some shadow to measure because the sun is no longer directly over head like it would be on the equator.
The Greeks knew about this in Ancient history and even did this experiment.
2 Goatinsheepsclothing 2016-07-06
If you look up into the sky with a telescope you can clearly see that the celestial bodies are roughly spheres and if you monitor them over time you see they move in circles. You can even just look up at the sun and moon and see their spherical shapes/circular motion.
Now ask yourself, what's more likely:
1.) The earth defied the laws of physics, somehow formed a flat plane, and everything is an illusion to throw us off the truth.
2.) The earth looks and acts just like every other celestial body you've ever seen. Mainstream astronomy/physics aren't just tools of disinformation. We actually live on a somewhat spherical rock in space.
4 xxf1sh3rxx 2016-07-06
aha! so the earth isn't completely round after all.. /s
1 Balthanos 2016-07-06
I don't think anyone has ever made that assertion. We can't have a sphere when we observe mountain ranges and giant chasms in the ocean floor.
If you drained the oceans of all the water the planet would look quite alien.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 Goatinsheepsclothing 2016-07-06
You can also just imagine what happens to water or other liquids in the vacuum of space. I don't know what flat earth says about lava/magma and the earth's layers/core, but if it were formed from these molten materials like we imagine it would similarly form a spherical shape like water does in space. That's why they design special cups for the ISS, in regular cups the surface tension breaks too easily and the water floats up and forms a ball if left undisturbed.
2 ragecry 2016-07-06
Probably astronomy.
How about those photos of Earth from Russian satellites? Or China's lunar test flights? NASA isn't the only player in space you know.
Jump. Do you fall back towards the center of gravity or continue moving upward indefinitely into space?
2 alvarezg 2016-07-06
You can see the shadow of the Earth on the moon during an eclipse.
The receding horizon.
2 Balthanos 2016-07-06
What about Polaris?
http://debunkingflatearth.blogspot.com/2016/02/debunking-flat-earth-how-polaris-proves.html
Edit:
Also..
https://takethisskepticalblog.wordpress.com/2015/10/21/how-to-disprove-the-flat-earth/
2 dreamslaughter 2016-07-06
The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the Church. ~ Robert G. Ingersoll Quoting Ferdinand Magellan - no citation
More
2 zeropoint357 2016-07-06
Foucault's pendulum. Simply: A pendulum swings freely from a fixed point, the earth, rotating, moves around it.
2 [deleted] 2016-07-06
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1 zeropoint357 2016-07-06
It becomes even more interesting when the experiment is done at multiple places around the earth and the results are compared. It's a ball dude.
2 TheUnmashedPotato 2016-07-06
The real answer is spherical trigonometry. If you draw a triangle on a sphere, you’ll get positive curvature, meaning the angles will add to more than 180 degrees. The amount it’s over 180 degrees gives you insight into the size and exact shape of the sphere. That’s how they knew, way back in Newton’s time, that the earth had a bulge at the equator. Unfortunately, the math goes a little beyond what most people are comfortable with. Here are a few other things you can do with some easier math to prove the shape of the earth.
What angle should the sun or moon be at? Construct a right triangle where one end of the hypotenuse is at your location, and the other is at the sun, with the third point on the surface of the flat earth directly below the sun. You can then use trigonometry to determine the angle we should expect the sun to be at. Arctan (tan-1 ) of the ratio of the altitude of the sun over the horizontal distance to the sun (the point on the earth the sun is over). You'll find that, despite the "law of perspective", you'll be hard pressed to get the sun below 10 degrees above the horizon without making shapes that won't fit on the earth.
Why do the stars rotate in circles? If the stars are in a dome and rotating together, it would explain what we see from the north pole. However, as we move south, we start to view these circular paths at an angle. The greater the angle, the more elliptical their paths should appear. You can also use the trick above (reworked to input the angle, rather than output the angle) to predict the height of the north star, but different latitudes will give different heights, with a height of 0 at the equator for the north star.
Why does everyone observe the same side of the moon, even if they should be on opposite sides? If you're not afraid of trigonometry, you can even calculate how different of an angle two people should see at moon rise and moon set.
Most of these should be easy enough, if you've taken high school level trigonometry. If you're a little shaky on the trig, I'd recommend walking through Khan academy or something comparable with your dad.
1 shkursht 2016-07-06
Travel around the earth and you'll end up at your start point. If you fall off an edge then you know the earth is flat. Seems simple to me
0 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
2 TheUnmashedPotato 2016-07-06
That's false. People have circumnavigated the earth via both poles.
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
[deleted]
1 [deleted] 2016-07-06
Math
1 Skeezin_Squirrelnuts 2016-07-06
I've been enjoying the responses, thanks op! Looks like they have you convinced lol!
0 callmebaiken 2016-07-06
Ships disappearing hull first on the horizon... wait, no that's just perspective. The sun rising and setting... wait, no that would work the same on a flat earth. Focault's pendulums! ... wait no those are a total fraud that don't even work "right" half the time. Coriolis effect!.. wait, toilets spin in opposite directions in the same house, and how can it be a problem for bullets but not airplanes. Circumnavigation.... no that works in either model, at least east-west.
I'm afraid without Neil Degrass Tyson we'd all be Flat Earthers