The world is flat

[BrightOranges]

I learnt today that there are 'flat earthers' who seriously believe the conspiracy theories of a flat planet rather than a spherical one.
AIBU to think you can't fix stupid? Or is that too harsh?

I was also on the yec thread a few years ago. The best fight they could come up with against the argument that the universe had to be older than 4000 years because we could see stuff from more than 4000 light years away was "wormholes or something" or "God did that on purpose to make it look old". Yeah because I am sure gods highest priority was playing April fucking fools jokes on humanity...

"You mean that in some places is 9,8 m.s-2 and in others it's 19,6 or 4,9?"

So if you should want to lose weight or put on weight just move to the right places?

In my quest! Quest quest quest. Not question. Damn auto correct

Or a blip in the Matrix.

So if you should want to lose weight or put on weight just move to the right places?
Yes. And weight is the right term. Your mass will be the same. :)

If there is still gravity but a flat earth where is the centre of mass you are being pulled towards?

Hell. That's what you're being pulled towards for not believing in flatness.

Lweji Then we'd get weight tourism, all these foreigners coming over here (assuming "here" is a place of low gravity) to lose weight. We'll charge 'em.

When would we know how close to the edge we are? Do guards jump out and shout, "halt, who goes there?!"

lweji, still working on that....I promise I'll get you an answer asap.

DH agrees you will actually be heavier near the edge...but I need to do the math as they say.

That dinosaur

okay so it transparently depends on the size of the disk. Your weight in the centre doesn't change very much as the disk gets bigger, but your weight at the edge does.

Okay, so you are heavier as you get towards the edge in a way that depends on the size of the disk and your size relative to it. If the disk is much bigger than you are than you are very seriously heavier at the edge. So....rain that fell near the edge would run down either side of the edge and end up pooled near the centre of the disk.

And NOTHING is escaping from the edge, all rocket launches would take place from the centre, as it is far easier to achieve escape velocity there.

I'm still not totally convinced this is right, but it appears to be the net result of the maths I've done so far.

One of my closest friends is an amazingly intelligent bloke.

Yep, someone I did my PhD with was capable of extremely rigourous analysis of sources for his PhD, yet when it came to everything else he would believe every conspiracy going (bar flat earth theory).

The Illuminati, chemtrails, 9/11 being an inside job,the Bilderberg group etc, etc. In his head it was connected had a certain internal and self reinforcing logic, that there the world was run by a sinister cabal of the powerful and these were all techniques to keep the masses docile and hide the true nature of power from them. Anyone who doubted his view of the world he dismissed as 'sheeple' or being actively involved in the coverup.

Say you'd argue that rather than being powerful mind altering drugs, that the trails left behind aeroplanes were water vapour and point to numerous scientific studies, proving this, he'd respond with 'ahh but that's what they want you to think and who pays these Scientists? Governments and corporations who have a vested interest in keeping the truth from us.'

DH agrees you will actually be heavier near the edge...but I need to do the math as they say.

I it's a disk there is no centre of mass you're pulled towards within the disk, per definition.
You'll be pulled towards something below the disk. But what? What's under the disk?

And where the fuck do the Sun and the Moon go?

To clarify the previous post.

Considering the size of the Earth there's no way there are huge variations in gravity in different places. Not by factors of two. You can only believe that's possible if you've never travelled outside of your country.
(Remember that factor implies multiplication).

At the edges of a disk we'd also be pulled almost sideways. It doesn't happen.

So, it would only work if the centre of gravity was well below the disk.

Speaking of being pulled sideways, that's what would happen to the material forming the Earth if the centre of gravity was indeed at the centre. The edges would be pulled in and end up forming... a big ball.

I asked an anti-vaxxer if she was part of the Flat Earth Society. It was hilarious.

This is the truth.

Hell. That's what you're being pulled towards for not believing in flatness

I'm pretty sure the theory is that there isn't a centre of gravity, as the plane is constantly accelerating at the same pace everywhere the gravitational effect is the same everywhere.

Fascinated by the ice wall barrier idea. Apparently it's "guarded". Are we expected to believe that this has been the case throughout human history. Why have none of the guards ever spoken about it? Surely there would be evidence. Same with space study and exploration. If it's all faked, many thousands of people would be involved in the deception. Why have none of the fakers ever admitted it?

I want the guards to be like the polar bears from The Golden Compass.

Like this

If it is a finite disk then there is a well defined centre of mass....in, well, the middle of the disk.

So if you are near the middle the net force on you is downward but small.

If you are near the edge the net force is almost horizontal and quite powerful.

The Flat Earth FAQ says this about gravity

The earth isn't pulled into a sphere because the force known as gravity doesn't exist or at least exists in a greatly diminished form than is commonly taught. The earth is constantly accelerating up at a rate of 32 feet per second squared (or 9.8 meters per second squared). This constant acceleration causes what you think of as gravity. Imagine sitting in a car that never stops speeding up. You will be forever pushed into your seat. The earth works much the same way. It is constantly accelerating upwards being pushed by a universal accelerator (UA) known as dark energy or aetheric wind. This acceleration does not violate physics and according to Einstein's theory of special relativity, we can accelerate forever without reaching the speed of light

Shit, I had forgotten about 'dark energy' that bit was fun

So the gravitational effect comes from the acceleration, not from the centre of mass, so the effect would be the same everywhere on the plane.

But acceleration from what?
A flat earth is not rotating, presumably. So, is it speeding towards something?

Dark matter in physics is matter that can't be detected (seen). They use it on that page as some mysterious force. Physicists assume it has mass, which is why it affects gravity.

If the Earth would forever accelerate, as they say, eventually it would reach the speed of light, or at least very close to it. Are there any hints at what would happen then? Because Einstein has a few ideas about that.

BTW, presumably they also deny the trips to the Moon? Because surely the Moon would be accelerating at the same speed as the Earth, or it would be left behind.