How can one prove that the world is round?

Asked by: Brenden Brewer

Answer
Now that we have access to space, the easiest way
to prove the Earth is spherical is to leave it and view
it from a distance. Astronauts and space probes
have done just that. Every picture of Earth ever
taken shows only a circular shape, and the only
geometric solid which looks like a circle from any
direction is a sphere.

One of the oldest proofs of the Earth's shape,

however, can be seen from the ground and occurs
during every lunar eclipse. The geometry of a lunar
eclipse has been known since ancient Greece.
When a full Moon occurs in the plane of Earth's
orbit, the Moon slowly moves through Earth's
shadow. Every time that shadow is seen, its edge is
round. Once again, the only solid that always
projects a round shadow is a sphere.
Answered by: Paul Walorski, B.A., Part-time
Physics/Astronomy Instructor

This is a question that has been asked for many years, and there are some very
intuitive, and some not-so-intuitive answers.

To start with... there's a horizon, meaning that the surface that one is observing from is
not an infinite plane. On the clearest of days, the only restriction to one's range of sight
is the horizon. There can be two explanations for this - one, that the Earth at some point
just stops, as if you were looking off the edge of a table. The other is that the Earth is
round. Hundreds of years ago, before the invention of the compass or sextant, precise
navigation for ships was difficult, even with the stars. Ships that ventured past sight of
land were often lost, and thus it was generally believed that the world simply *stopped*
at the end of the horizon. With the invention of the compass, and improved map-
making, people began to dare more, and with the return of Columbus from his trans-
Atlantic voyage, the concept of the Earth as flat was shattered.

Further proof of the Earth being round came after the voyage of Columbus. When
Newton discovered and measured the force of gravity, that number could then be tested
anywhere the theory was known. Since the force of gravity is roughly the same
everywhere on the globe, it could be surmised that the Earth must be spherical. If the
Earth were not round, whole hemispheres would have different atmospheric pressure
and significantly different sea levels. Also, pictures taken of the Earth in the last 50
years have proved absolutely conclusively that the Earth is round. These are just the
arguments that don't require much physics knowledge to explain, there are others that
are more technical, but I think that the simplest arguments are the best.
Answered by: Frank DiBonaventuro, B.S., Physics grad, The Citadel, Air Force officer

There are a multitude of methods in which any one can prove that the earth is a sphere.
These are the most common.

You can launch a rocket to a high altitude and take pictures of the earth (which various
government agencies and private groups have already done thousands of times in the
past), but that isn't the most practical way. Pictures and videos taken by orbiting
satellites and space stations are certainly the most definitive proof that the earth is a
sphere.

But if you're not convinced, read on...

You can also observe, with binoculars, ships slowly 'sinking' below the horizon as it sails
farther and farther out to the ocean, then watch them come back. They certainly didn't
fall off the edge of the earth! You can also sail or fly around the world.

The Greeks discovered that the earth is round by observing lunar eclipses (i.e. when the
earth blocks the sun from the moon, casting its round shadow on the moon's surface).

Another method is simultaneously measuring the length of the shadows cast by

identical poles perpendicular to a flat surface that is tangential to the earth's radius at
various, distant locations. If indeed the earth is round, then the shadows should all vary
in length from one distant location to another, which means that the angle at which the
parallel rays of sunlight struck each pole varied from one location to another. (recall the
alternate-angles theorem from Geometry class) If the earth is flat, then the lengths of all
the shadows should be identical when measured simultaneously, since all rays of
sunlight that strike the earth are parallel. However, they are not identical, but in fact,
varies in such a way that the angles indicate a spherical surface. (This was one of the
earliest methods to determine the radius of the earth)

Also, keep in mind the 24 hour time zones. When it is noon in Hawaii, it is approximately
midnight in the Middle East and vice versa. How can it be noon and midnight
simultaneously? It is certainly impossible with a flat earth and a sun millions of times
more massive.

If I were a billionaire and physically fit, then proving to you the earth is round would be
no problem. I can just take you with me on the space shuttle and we'll watch with our
own eyes the earth from the orbiting International Space Station.

I have heard from astronauts that there is no experience comparable as watching the
earth from above.
Answered by: Jeff Franco, High School Student, LHS, Lakewood, WA