Could the Earth really be flat?

Question

Is the straight line really straight? Is flat a straight line?

Listen. As you travel around the earth (assuming you remain at the same distance from the gravitational force as you travel), the centre of gravitation means you are not getting any closer to the centre despite walking in a curving motion. The line you make will mimic the Earth's perceived "roundness" but you have not changed your distance from the Earth's gravitational centre. To express in a clearer manner, a bowl of water will look like a flat surface but is in fact slightly curvy as the centre of gravitation is at a different angle on one side of the bowl than the other. Does this mean the straight line does not truly exist because it does not mimic the curvature of the Earth's perceived surface. Or does it mean that the "straight line" is what we know as "the curve".

Therefore, could the Earth be flat after all?

Answer 1

"Achem's Razor": 'All things being equal, when you have eliminated all other possibilities, what ever is left must be the truth.'

It sounds to me like you are looking for extra numbers of reasons that the earth must be flat.  I don't really think you understand what it is you ask. I don't mean that in criticism, only to help you understand.

Simply ask yourself if all the other planets and moons se see are flat too.  If so, how is it the math of orbiting planets stay the same even though the planet looks differently.

And finally, do you honestly think all those pictures of the earth from space showing various sides of the earth were staged?

Back to Achem's razor:  The Earth has to be round because all accepted scientific data in addition to pictures reveals a round planet.

Answer 2

As per your thinking, maybe yes.

Answer 3

are you stupid Obviously the world is round have you not seen space pictures  

Answer 4

Correction........the mass or the intensity of an object is independent to the centre of gravity.The Centre of gravity is achieved when an object has consintent, mass, density.......so if Earth was a straight line(Infinite= no consitency) then it would have no centre of gravity

Answer 5

There are several reasons why the earth cannot be flat:

1) No one could travel around the world and  wind up right back

where they've started. Being flat, the earth would end in at least

four corners. Then we would have to determine whether the earth

is square; rectangular; triangular, hexagonal; octagonal; pentagonal;

etc.,. But guess what? Houston, we have a problem! Which leads us

to reason #2.

2) None of the above shapes are ideal for rotation while still

maintaining a perfect sphere and keeping everything intact.

Can you imagine something flat revolving around the sun?

Very clumsy and awkward looking; not to mention the fact

that any geometrical figure besides a sphere, globe or circle

would gradually pull out of position as it rotates causing it to eventually revolve out of orbit and burst into billions of asteroids and meteorites.

3) Land is flat; however the earth has to be round in order for the seas

and oceans to continue to have a place to flow without pouring off

the edges. The creatures of the sea and oceans would also flow

and/or swim off of the edge of the earth. People would literally be able to walk off the face of this earth never to be seen nor heard from again. Thus, if the earth is round..everything continues like a cycle. Sort of like the symbol for infinity/eternity. Remember; gravity doesn't stop

anything from moving..

Peace/Joy  

Answer 6

The earth is perceived to be flat from one point.  Walking is a curved path has nothing whatsoever to do with straight lines.  Even light bends due to gravity, so a strong enough laser beam will curve.

In other words, yes, the earth is completely flat, so is the moon and a basketball.

Answer 7

Being an alien from the planet Flatipus 298693 of the Xerox galaxy I assure you that your earth is almost round and that you can define the shape of a planet by the pregnant female species. On Earth females have an almost round belly during pregnancy. On Flatipus we photocopy our children and they come out flat. I forgot, that is also why some are darker than others.

Answer 8

Your logic about straight lines is good, until you suggest the earth may be flat.  It's not.

Answer 9

Our world is round.

Answer 10

Of course it's flat, and it is supported by four elephants which stand on the back of an enormous turtle.

Answer 11

No, the idea that the Earth could be flat doesn't really follow from your reasoning.

One of the theories we hold is that 2 parallel lines will never converge or diverge. What we forget is that this is only necessarily true on a two-dimensional plane. On a sphere, this would not be true; parallel lines could very well converge at the poles. Although we normally assume certain facts about the conditions, geometry is very specific about how different conditions will cause different results.

Another example would be a triangle. The interior angles on a triangle should sum 180 degrees...on a flat surface. On a sphere, two of the corners could equal 90 degrees (they're parallel at this point on the sphere) and converge at the pole at a non-zero angle. This doesn't mean that the rule about interior angles is incorrect; it just means that it must be modified when we start talking about three-dimensional surface.

This doesn't mean that straight lines and triangles don't exist; it just means that, just like anything else, the observed behavior can change based on a multitude of other conditions.

So, let's perform an experiment in our minds. You and I, from different locations, start walking north. When we start, our lines should be parallel, yet we'll get closer together. Given this, it's much more likely that we're walking on a spherical surface than a flat surface. The conclusion to draw is that the earth is a sphereical object, not a flat one.

Answer 12

The Earth can be flat if you define your terms properly.

One of the revolutions in science produced by Isaac Newton is that you can choose any reference frame you want. Most people standing on the side of the road perceive themselves to be stationary and the cars speeding past... but it is equally valid in physics to say that the cars are stationary and that you and the ground are zipping past.

This means that if you wish, you can say that the world is flat because you have chosen a particular system of reference which causes it to be so. You would end up with a rather differently-shaped universe (it would be only twenty-five thousand miles across at ground level but much bigger at higher altitudes, for example) and your descriptions for the movement of many other objects would be much, much more complicated.  But that doesn't necessarily make it WRONG... just different.

Just keep in mind (as other people have clumsily pointed out) that yours is not the ONLY reference frame choice. Most people prefer a Copernican system of reference. This doesn't make them necessarily more correct (except, perhaps, to monks named Ockham)... but it does make them more popular and easier to communicate with. So it goes.