Flat Earth Society

[Pulsar]

Nah, it just turns around every few million years and accelerates at -9.8 m/s^2

Aha! The dinosaurs didn't die out, they fell off!
Hmmm, so God doesn't roll dice, He flips coins. Yes, that makes sense, we really are created from random chance...

How do flat-earthers explain the fact that g varies depending on latitude?

And how do they explain the Coriolis force? But I guess that's way over their heads.

 

[P3t4rd]

And how do they explain the Coriolis force? But I guess that's way over their heads.

Is travelling distances greater than that of the horizon over their heads too? Or even why I in the united kingdom can't see Russia?

 

[Marcus]

How do flat-earthers explain the fact that g varies depending on latitude?

On the equator it's about 9.7804 m/s^2 and on the North Pole about 9.8322 m/s^2.

It's aetherodynamics. Clearly, the Earth's magnetic field is like a ring above the equator, this slices through the aether and diverts the flow around the "south pole" (i.e. the ice wall that surrounds the Earth) and through the hole at the North Pole (which those ridiculous Hollow Earthers think leads to the "inside", the deluded fools!). Obviously, the diversion of the aether isn't entirely efficient, as the aetheric flow near the "poles" adds to the force due to the world's acceleration.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

centrifugal force would fling us off into space (I hear you out there, it's real, get over it).

Oh, how I hate that word

 

[e2iPi]

Oh, how I hate that word

See, there's always one

 

[IrBubble]

How do flat-earthers explain the fact that g varies depending on latitude?
-t
On the equator it's about 9.7804 m/s^2 and on the North Pole about 9.8322 m/s^2.

There's obviously a difference in mass which results in a difference in space-time according to GR. And since acceleration deals with time the difference in time would result in a difference in force experienced.

 

[ImprobableJoe]

There's obviously a difference in mass which results in a difference in space-time according to GR. And since acceleration deals with time the difference in time would result in a difference in force experienced.

You've made the classic mistake... you pretend that the question is legitimate, and by answering make it so. The answer that a flat earther would give is that physicists are liars who are in on the conspiracy.

Maybe that's why I'm such an asshole on these issues. When confronted with people who believe all evidence is a lie, the only possible strategy is to attack the credibility of the people who brainwashed them.

 

[Pulsar]

Or even why I in the united kingdom can't see Russia?

Or why do the Sun, stars, and the celestial pole, have different positions on the sky, depending on where you are? So many questions...

You've made the classic mistake... you pretend that the question is legitimate, and by answering make it so. The answer that a flat earther would give is that physicists are liars who are in on the conspiracy.

And they probably don't travel very far either

 

[IrBubble]

Or why do the Sun, stars, and the celestial pole, have different positions on the sky, depending on where you are? So many questions...

They are rather small luminal objects spinning around the earth, of course they would be in different positions. And don't bring trigonometry into this, pythagoras theorem is just a theorem! (it has never been proven :roll: ) Actually, pythagoras died 2500 years ago, you can't use a theorem that old, that is not the proper way to do science!

Flat-earthers are just drawing conclusions from the evidence, and not trying to apply the backwards helio-centric view that the helio-centrists worship. Helio-centrisists are trying to keep science at the minus fifth centaury!

(yes, I am impersonating a creationist)

 

[e2iPi]

And don't bring trigonometry into this, pythagoras theorem is just a theorem! (it has never been proven :roll:

Since this falls into the realm of mathematics, it actually can be proven, and HAS been proven. I can think of about a dozen off the top of my head. :geek:
That's the beauty of Mathematics, something CAN be absolutely true

i^2

 

[P3t4rd]

That's the beauty of Mathematics, something CAN be absolutely true

Don't be ridiculous, you'd have to be an idiot not to know god changes the laws of mathematics daily.

 

[IrBubble]

Since this falls into the realm of mathematics, it actually can be proven, and HAS been proven. I can think of about a dozen off the top of my head. :geek:
That's the beauty of Mathematics, something CAN be absolutely true

i^2

I am well aware of that mathematics can be proven, and that pythagoras theorem has been proven, that's why I made the :roll: smiley. I was trying to hint at how silly things some creationists say are unproven.

 

[e2iPi]

Don't be ridiculous, you'd have to be an idiot not to know god changes the laws of mathematics daily.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that part. Duh.

 

[borrofburi]

Still have the problem of constant acceleration, eventually we would exceed the speed of light. Do you have any idea what kind of speeding ticket you get for that!

Err to be fair, I read the original statement as: we travel in a really really big circle at constant (very fast) velocity so the centripetal force required is 9.8m/s^2, this is of course provided by god.

 

[e2iPi]

Err to be fair, I read the original statement as: we travel in a really really big circle at constant (very fast) velocity so the centripetal force required is 9.8m/s^2, this is of course provided by god.

I'm not going to do the math right now, but just an intuitive guess tells me that in order for the circle to be large enough to replicate the phenomena we observe from the Earth, our rotational velocity would have to exceed the speed of light. I'll work it out later, I could be wrong.

i^2

 

[Marcus]

I'm not going to do the math right now, but just an intuitive guess tells me that in order for the circle to be large enough to replicate the phenomena we observe from the Earth, our rotational velocity would have to exceed the speed of light. I'll work it out later, I could be wrong.

Hold on, let me do some sums...

To observe the phenomena we do, you'd need the rate of rotation (w) to be one revolution per day, so (2pi/24.60.60) radians per second. You want w^2.r to be 9.8 (give or take). That makes the radius 1.85x10^9 metres.

The speed would be wr, which gives 1.35x10^5 m/s, which is less than 0.005% of c.

In order for gravity to be "down" across the Earth, the disc would need to be a little curved (around the surface of a cylinder whose centre is the centre of the rotation we're using to generate gravity). However, the circumference of the Earth is 4x10^7 metres, which subtends less than 1.2 degrees of arc at the centre of the cylinder, so the concavity would be barely noticeable.

I'm as surprised as you that it works, so please check my calculations!

(Edited for terminological correctitude)

 

[SchrodingersFinch]

Using the formulas for uniform circular motion:

a = v^2/r
r = v^2/a

a = g = 9.8 m/s
v < c = 299 792 458 m/s

therefore
r < c^2/g = 9.2 * 10^15 m

So the radius of the "really big circle" can't be more than 9.2 trillion kilometers (roughly one light-year).

 

[shovelbum26]

This isn't even a throw back to Dark Age logic. This isn't even a throw back to pre-Christian dogma or other such religious clap-trap. This is straight up indisputable and irrefutable brain damage of some sort. No sooner than the 3rd century BCE, people accepted the world as spherical as fact. Shoot, Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the world and he lived 276 BCE to 194 BCE. Heaven forbid that observing the open ocean and seeing the sails almost appear out of the ocean was a good indicator the world wasn't exactly flat. I'm Polish, I have an excuse for being dumb sometimes, but what is theirs?

I think the one thing that irritates me the most is these creationist or nut jobs make such claims without doing any research. It's like saying, Chicken can cure cancer. I know because blue skittles roll into my mouth sometimes. Or even more simply, "Baby Jesus told me so." Can there be a some sort of vaccine for dumb, or is that also still in the works?

 

[e2iPi]

It's like saying, Chicken can cure cancer. I know because blue skittles roll into my mouth sometimes.

Make logical sense.

"Baby Jesus told me so."

This is completely irrefutable!

Can there be a some sort of vaccine for dumb, or is that also still in the works?

To quote Ron White "You can't fix stupid."


i^2

 

[shovelbum26]

I should have known. Calling on Baby Jesus for anything trumps any type of scientific evidence we may have conducted in the past. What was I thinking? The reason we slipped into a recession wasn't because of a self correcting aspect of an open market, or illegal short selling of housing loans, or even Ponzy schemes in the slightest. Baby Jesus said toil and tribulation time. It makes so much sense. If only I lived near a mega church to give them all my money for some prayer oil and magical sky daddy books. But where am I going to find that?