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Flat for all intensive purposes..
You are tasked with building a runway for the Space X program that will
be used for the next space vehicle. The runway must be 5 miles long
and 500 ft wide. For safety reasons the runway must be smooth and level
so specifications call for it to be "Flat & Level" at any point measured.
To celebrate the "grand opening" you invite 1000 people from around the
world the evening before it's first use. They spread out and for fun you've
given them marbles and a level to test every aspect of the runway.
All at once they spill the marbles and confirm that the slope is perfect and
the marbles spread out evenly for everyone. "Flat and Level!" they all confirm.
You've also invited 10 scientists. They pull out their pocket laser pointers
lay them on the pavement and spend the entire celebration telling people
what idiots they all are for calling the runway flat. They show everyone
how the runway is "crowned" in both directions. They are not satisfied
until every person verbally repeats
"The runway is not flat.
The runway is not flat."
See post 72.How do you figure you'e going to get water pooling on a flat surface?
How do you figure you'e going to get water pooling on a flat surface?
Right... which means it would flow away over the sidesSee post 72.
The runway edges are higher elevation that the middle.
Look at the diagram he provided.
Gravity would dictate a water surface curvature thats concentric with the earth.
But the runway isn't particularly WIDE, is it? why won't it just flow over the edges?See post 72.
The runway edges are higher elevation that the middle.
Look at the diagram he provided.
Gravity would dictate a water surface curvature on the runway thats concentric with the earth.
You didnt look at the diagram.Right... which means it would flow away over the sides
I did look at the diagram. Water spreads out, it doesn't flow in a straight line.You didnt look at the diagram.
The sides (all 4 edges) are higher in elevation than the middle, if the middle is tangent to the earth. This is true for any size flat surface, though the effects are negligible unless its a very very large plane.
Water doesnt flow from low elevation to high.I did look at the diagram. Water spreads out, it doesn't flow in a straight line.
That makes no sense to me in the context of a runway. If we were talking about a square surface, yes, but we're talking something presumably only a few metres wide, right?Water doesnt flow from low elevation to high.
All the edges are higher than the middle.
Yeah, for a small area like an actual runway, the elevation difference between earth curve and geometrically flat surface is real but negligible in its effect on water, I think. I see what youre saying.That makes no sense to me in the context of a runway. If we were talking about a square surface, yes, but we're talking something presumably only a few metres wide, right?
Glad we could work it out.Yeah, for a small area like an actual runway, the elevation difference between earth curve and geometrically flat surface is real but negligible in its effect on water, I think. I see what youre saying.
Excellent explanation, and quite correct I believe.Okay. The problem here is that light and marbles react differently to gravitational forces. Light reacts very weakly to gravity and has its own speed, while the only thing moving the marbles is gravity. So if the pavement curved all the way around the earth, and you lay a marble on each side of the earth, neither will roll, because gravity is pulling them directly orthogonal to the pavement. However, the laser will easily escape the earth's gravity and move (more or less) straight, as its movement is not based on the relative flatness of the slope to the direction of gravity, but on the absolute flatness of the slope relative to a straight line through space.
Indeed, if the earth were flat, we'd expect both the laser and the marbles to show the same slope, as the direction of gravity would be unchanged from location to location. Your argument is not very good.
You could do that, causing water to pool in the middle.
I'm not suggesting that the earth is flat.
I'm illustrating that scientists are the idiots
for insisting that everyone describe the
earth by it's almost imperceptible curve.
Panpsychism is sometimes dismissed as a crazy view, but this reaction on its own is not a
serious objection.
It is true that we do not have much direct evidence for
panpsychism
but we also do not have much direct evidence against it
Generally the problem is when certain people decide that push the runway-is-flat because of their particular belief system, since it was written in an ancient tome claiming that all runways are flat and the earth is not curved at all. And we need to institute prayer in schools about flat runways, because that's what's causing all those gosh-darn homosexuals be having parades. That's when scientists start to be horrible and prefer people learn actual facts.
Parallel to the curvature of the Earth is a reasonable approximation of flat for a runway.
Parallel to a beam of light at the surface of the Earth is also a reasonable approximation of flat for a runway.
You could use a laser to show a dot about 15 feet above the ground at the other end.
But why haven't your weird hypothetical 10 scientists been asked to leave for annoying everyone else?
The saying is 'for all intents and purposes'. What you said makes no sense and is a common mishearing.
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