Flat earth?

[colly0410 1,181]

Been looking at the 'Flat Earth Society' website & reading their forums. I can't make my mind up if it's a parody & they are pretending to believe the earth is flat, or whether they are all bonkers? Some of the things they claim are just - how shall I put this "totally daft." & you all think I'm a loony!!

[Guest]

Well Colly I read a recent report saying there are more ways to stack a deck of cards than there are atoms...need a flat surface!

Discuss...I'll get me coat.

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

Formed by retired politicians of all parties so they can carry on their fantasies

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

If you watch some of their videos, they do put a convincing argument forward, especially the direct routes from A-B on the globe and looks far more direct on a flat earth map. But saying that, after sailing from Australia to the US and having lived on the coast of NSW for a few years and having heard my own signal on the back of a Yagi antenna, signal sent short path and heard long path, I am more in belief that the earth is a spinning globe.

Another argument against flat earth is the daily cycle of the sun, if the earth WAS flat how do they explain almost half the earth in darkness and almost half in daylight each day?? If the earth was flat, all the earth would be in some form of daylight at once.

[colly0410 1,181]

Remember reading somewhere that when Marconie sent a radio signal across the Atlantic it proved beyond doubt to the 'flat earthers' that the earth was flat & many millions of people & many religions believed them. Of course they didn't know of the existence of the E & F layers reflecting radio waves beyond the horizon back then..

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Or the D layer.

When I lived in Wollongong, we had the huge mineral terminal at Port Kembla, ships out at sea waiting to deliver iron ore or ships waiting for the coal loader, many just over the horizon with only the upper parts of the ships visible.

When we sailed from Oz to the states, it's amazing how land starts appearing from the highest point to the whole picture, proving the curvature of the earth.

Then there are the broadcast and communication satellites around the equator at geo synchronous orbit, if the earth were flat, we'd be able to recieve most of the satellites transmissions, so wouldn't need so much space junk up there.

Steve, from recollection, Marconi sent signals in the low frequency end of the spectrum, pretty broad band, as they used large untuned coils in spark transmitters. Low frequencies don't hit reflect off the upper atmosphere and are usually line of sight, and are absorbed by the D layer during daylight hours, so give weight to the flat earthers. I think Marconi just was just lucky that the day he sent his morse signal, that it was just a perfect day for it. His signal was very weak though.

Even today with modern equipment, it's very difficult to get a LF signal across the Atlantic, I believe several hams tried it a few years back, they used 1.5Kw from the US side to the UK's hams using 400watts, they used modern multi element antennas, so cheated a tad. Signals were very weak at the receiving stations. Now we have legal allotments in the LF spectrum, it could well be someone will try Marconis experiment, but not with spark transmitters though!!

[Tim in the North East 200]

Someone once told me that the coast of the Holderness Peninsula in East Yorkshire was where people who believed the earth was flat went to peer over the edge.....

[colly0410 1,181]

# 6 Ayup

Someone speculated that it was short wave harmonics that were received & all the long waves didn't make it. Can't ever remember it being mentioned on what frequency/wavelength was supposedly used..

[loppylugs 8,427]

This flat earth thing seems to have popped up big time just lately. Lots of stuff on Youtube about it.

Not my area of expertise. One thing I do know. Whether flat or a sphere its in a right flippin' mess.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Steve, it wasn't any particular frequency, that's why spark transmitters are banned from use, they take up a large chunk of spectrum. But it would be in the LF range, although extremely wide. Hard to believe I'm only licensed for a narrow bandwidth and if I exceed it I could be in serious trouble.

The actual first transmissions of radio waves was done during the American war between the states, Marconi probably used some of that technology.

[notty ash 370]

Having completed a round the world trip 14 years ago, I would take a lot of convincing that the world is flat. I didn't believe it could possibly be flat even before my trip.

[FLY2 10,108]

I used to wonder, that if it was flat, then where are the edges? Where is the end of the earth?

[FLY2 10,108]

Ah, just thought about it. Junction 6A of the M1 where it meets the M25. Well that's where the real world finishes and fantasy land begins. LOL

[Guest]

Things go flat around Aspley fly,

[freckles 196]

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

According to the flat earthers, the outer most part of earth is surrounded by Antarctica and the ice keeps the seas in.

Another fact against flat earth, when I lived on the coast in North Yorks, on a clear day IF the earth was flat, I should have been able to see main land Europe, alas, all I could see was the North Sea to the horizon.

Then when I lived in Wollongong, I worked at a colliery with it's entrance a few hundred feet above sea level with a great view out to sea, but alas we couldn't see New Zealand, which, if the earth was flat, should have been visible more so due to the high mountains on it's west coast.

[Oztalgian 3,269]

Ayupmeducks #6

There are many that would have said that in the seventies Port Kembla was the end of the earth with its steelworks, coal loader and zinc and copper smelter and coal mines along the escarpment.

If you remember the 198 metre chimney at Electrolytic Refinery and Smelting Company, It was demolished in February 2014. The air is much cleaner in the area now.

Having lived in the area previously I have to say that the beaches from Stanwell Park to South 'gong and again south of Kembla are some of the best in the world. .

[colly0410 1,181]

The FE lot say satellites do not exist! So what are all those dish things on the side of many houses doing pointing into the sky then? I've got a Freesat dish & receiver in the garage that the in-laws used to use in their caravan stuck in the shed, not got round to putting it up yet. Set it up myself at Sutton-on-sea & seen it in action so know the concept works..

[poohbear 1,360]

Having read the FE stuff I daren't dig the back garden now in case I leave a hole!!

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

#18, Left the Wollongong area after the big coal strike had finished in the early 80's to live in Bathurst and work at a colliery near Lithgow, then moved stateside in 89.

There was a lot of air pollution from the steelworks and ore smelters I have to agree.

[Ayupmeducks 1,730]

Hmmm so the fat earthers claim no satellites, I'd love to know what I was pointing at with my big dish in the 90's then, I used to watch the C band satellite feeds and shows from horizon to horizon, then Dishnetwork and the Canadian birds in the Ku band up until they introduced Nagravision 3 encryption...LOL

[colly0410 1,181]

After reading some of the FE claims I'm thinking "no can be that daft - can they?"

[catfan 14,793]

If the earth wasn't flat how come those aussies don't walk upside down then ?

[FLY2 10,108]

They do, but they're all too pi55ed to realise it !