Water does not curve and bend.
Level vs Flat
Gravitational Potential energy - Equipotent lines.
Misconception #6: Level and flat mean the same thing.
In the context of a planet, these 2 things mean very different things. You can travel thousands of kilometers on an ocean and your elevation will (roughly) never change, it will always be sea LEVEL. But this doesn’t mean it’s flat, it simply means it follows the surface of whatever object you live on. On a local scale, these 2 things mean almost the same thing, so colloquially they are used interchangeably.
Water doesn't seek anything, it conforms to forces acting on it!
It's natural state is a sphere when there are zero forces actiing on it!
Yes, water finds its "level"... on a globe because gravity is acting on it.
Taxonomy: Level
According to the Earth Science of Geodesy 'Level' is defined as perpendicular to Plumb, and Plumb simply follows Gravity which wobbles a bit due to the density of the Earth not being uniform.
Level vs Flat
Gravitational Potential energy - Equipotent lines.
Misconception #6: Level and flat mean the same thing.
In the context of a planet, these 2 things mean very different things. You can travel thousands of kilometers on an ocean and your elevation will (roughly) never change, it will always be sea LEVEL. But this doesn’t mean it’s flat, it simply means it follows the surface of whatever object you live on. On a local scale, these 2 things mean almost the same thing, so colloquially they are used interchangeably.
Water doesn't seek anything, it conforms to forces acting on it!
It's natural state is a sphere when there are zero forces actiing on it!
Yes, water finds its "level"... on a globe because gravity is acting on it.
Taxonomy: Level
According to the Earth Science of Geodesy 'Level' is defined as perpendicular to Plumb, and Plumb simply follows Gravity which wobbles a bit due to the density of the Earth not being uniform.
Water "DOES" Curve!
Due to Earth’s gravity, water seeks the lowest gravitational potential energy which is as close as possible to the center of Earth. It forms a nearly spherical surface centered on Earth’s center of gravity.
But the scale of the earth is HUGE which is something flat earthers' just don't seem to get over and over in so many ways. Small distances over water and widths of normal everyday containers are teeny tiny compared to the earth's huge size (over 7900 miles in diameter). Even when you look out at the ocean you are seeing a just a tiny fraction of the large and massive earth. Thus, the water surface looks practically flat but it is NOT perfectly flat!
Due to Earth’s gravity, water seeks the lowest gravitational potential energy which is as close as possible to the center of Earth. It forms a nearly spherical surface centered on Earth’s center of gravity.
But the scale of the earth is HUGE which is something flat earthers' just don't seem to get over and over in so many ways. Small distances over water and widths of normal everyday containers are teeny tiny compared to the earth's huge size (over 7900 miles in diameter). Even when you look out at the ocean you are seeing a just a tiny fraction of the large and massive earth. Thus, the water surface looks practically flat but it is NOT perfectly flat!
Water that is farther from the center of the Earth has a higher gravitational potential energy than the same particle closer to the center of the Earth. Like a ball rolling downhill, water will always seek to find the lowest energy state which is closest to the earth's center. As a result, the water surface will form a curvature centered on Earth’s center of gravity. Water particle that forms the water surface has the same potential as they are approximately at the same distance from the center of Earth.
Since the size of Earth is huge (over 7900 miles in diameter), the curvature will not be visible if the surface area is small, like in a glass or a bucket. Even if there can appear to be a curvature, it results from other forces, such as surface tension.
For example, the water surface in a 10 cm wide container will have a curvature of about 0.00000002 cm. We cannot notice or even measure such a very slight curvature. On the other hand, a 10 km stretch over the ocean will have a bulge of about 2 m, sufficient to obscure the bottom part of a ship and to see water bending at Lake Pontchartrain!
Since the size of Earth is huge (over 7900 miles in diameter), the curvature will not be visible if the surface area is small, like in a glass or a bucket. Even if there can appear to be a curvature, it results from other forces, such as surface tension.
For example, the water surface in a 10 cm wide container will have a curvature of about 0.00000002 cm. We cannot notice or even measure such a very slight curvature. On the other hand, a 10 km stretch over the ocean will have a bulge of about 2 m, sufficient to obscure the bottom part of a ship and to see water bending at Lake Pontchartrain!
Water Finds Its Level - Ocean surface topography reveals ocean floor topography
You'll see a lot of Flat Earth memes that talk about 'Water finds its level"
There are hundreds of projects where they use radar altimetry to measure the ocean surface very accurately and this surface, in turn, reveals the shape of the ocean floor. This works because the shape (or topography) of the ocean floor means the gravitational pull is different in that area because of changes in the density -- this is then reflected in the shape of the surface of the water.
You'll see a lot of Flat Earth memes that talk about 'Water finds its level"
There are hundreds of projects where they use radar altimetry to measure the ocean surface very accurately and this surface, in turn, reveals the shape of the ocean floor. This works because the shape (or topography) of the ocean floor means the gravitational pull is different in that area because of changes in the density -- this is then reflected in the shape of the surface of the water.
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So water does indeed fine its level - but that "level" is defined by the spherical gravity of the Earth and all the micro variations therein - and we can measure them and verify those measurements by comparing them with other methods of measuring the ocean floor topography.
This map of the ocean floor is one such result of mapping the ocean surface topography:
This map of the ocean floor is one such result of mapping the ocean surface topography:
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Physics
Scientific Theory - In the scientific context, an unproven supposition is referred to as a ‘hypothesis’ instead, not a ‘theory.’
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Gravity, weight
Weigthless, free fall microgravity
Shell Theorem
Object retain inertia from earths rotation
The Curvature of the Water Surface
Equipotential: a Property of the Surface of Water
Earth Size and Slow Spin (tangential vs anglular speed) - you do not see it rotating from space for the same reason you do not see your hour hand move.
Inertia and conservation of momentum - Helcopter, drone, ball, atmosphere
(Closed system argument no good, atmosphere moves with earth as air in plane moves with plane)
Human Perception of Speed and Acceleration
Uniform circular motion = uniform linear motion + centripetal acceleration
Vacuum in Space - Gravity pulls in , not normal force like in tanks. Need a force, doesn't have to be a normal force or container.
Drag
Electromagnetism - Gravity cannot be shielded... No form of electromagnetism can explain gravity!
Refraction - Atmosphere is not water and cannot be used to explain aways things flat earthers cannot answer.
Atmospheric Refraction
Flight dynamics models adequate to assume flat and non-rotating earth.
Simulation and Observation
Visibility range and angular resolution
Dizzibs calculator no refraction - Use Metabunks or Walter Bislins
Equipment for Experiments
Theodolite
Cavendish Experiment
Foucault Pendulum
Ring Laser Gyro
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Scientific Theory - In the scientific context, an unproven supposition is referred to as a ‘hypothesis’ instead, not a ‘theory.’
Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation
Gravity, weight
Weigthless, free fall microgravity
Shell Theorem
Object retain inertia from earths rotation
The Curvature of the Water Surface
Equipotential: a Property of the Surface of Water
Earth Size and Slow Spin (tangential vs anglular speed) - you do not see it rotating from space for the same reason you do not see your hour hand move.
Inertia and conservation of momentum - Helcopter, drone, ball, atmosphere
(Closed system argument no good, atmosphere moves with earth as air in plane moves with plane)
Human Perception of Speed and Acceleration
Uniform circular motion = uniform linear motion + centripetal acceleration
Vacuum in Space - Gravity pulls in , not normal force like in tanks. Need a force, doesn't have to be a normal force or container.
Drag
Electromagnetism - Gravity cannot be shielded... No form of electromagnetism can explain gravity!
Refraction - Atmosphere is not water and cannot be used to explain aways things flat earthers cannot answer.
Atmospheric Refraction
Flight dynamics models adequate to assume flat and non-rotating earth.
Simulation and Observation
Visibility range and angular resolution
Dizzibs calculator no refraction - Use Metabunks or Walter Bislins
Equipment for Experiments
Theodolite
Cavendish Experiment
Foucault Pendulum
Ring Laser Gyro
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