Science is mysterious. People ask questions and with the tools at their disposal, scientists address a hypothesis. Geodesy is the Earth science of accurately measuring and understanding the Earth’s geometric shape, orientation in space and gravitational field.
Years of research in the field of geodesy has told us that a sphere is a close approximation of the true figure of the Earth. Ever since Christopher Columbus’s adventure, people have believed that the earth is “round”. However, what if the Earth was flat? (Some might even say this is true.) Would life go on as usual? Would the orientation of the Earth be affected? Let’s find out!
EFFECT OF GRAVITY
To begin with, you must know how gravity works. Gravity doesn’t actually “pull you down”, it pulls you towards the center of the mass of the Earth. So, if the Earth was flat and you tried to move away from the center, it would be equivalent to climbing a steep hill, and gravity would eventually bring you back to the center. Of course, this rules out the popular dilemma of the possibility of falling off the edge of the Earth.
EFFECT OF SUNLIGHT
Moving on to time zones. Currently, there are forty time zones in the world, twenty-four of which are standard time zones. These time zones exist because the sun doesn’t shine on the entire Earth at all times. If the Earth was flat, the sun would just act like a spotlight shining down on the entire planet at the same time. Even if your area was enveloped in darkness, you would still be able to see the sun shining down on the horizon.
You are probably thinking about the oceans. Would they still be in place? Some say that the water would probably fall off. Some say that the water would be concentrated in the center due to gravity. To be honest, this one remains a controversy. There are so many other effects of a flat Earth, you can check them out here. Do these theories contradict reality or present a logical explanation?
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