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Evidence & Experiment Three-Bedford Level

In 1872 Samual Rowbotham (1816-1885) wrote in "Earth Not a Globe", a nice preface that you should read if you have time. It shows that he honestly reports what he sees and is unlikely to be a fraud.

Bedford Level Experiment

A round, globe-type Earth should have curved surfaces, especially of standing water. Some math can show that any "level" surface would drop off about 8 inches in the first mile. The second mile should put the water surface 2.7 feet below the horizontal line through the starting point. The third mile, 6 ft and by the sixth mile, 24 ft. Sam tested this on a very long, very straight canal called the Bedford Level.

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Evidence & Experiment Two-Horizon Viewing

Take a look at the horizon of a great expanse of level land or sea. See if it looks flat, curved upwards or curved downwards. Use a long straight-edge held or balanced on something steady to assist your eyes. Here are some photographs in case you do not have such a big view within convenient distance from you.

/Driving/

Copyright:http://www.flickr.com/photos/morealtitude/731081486/

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Evidence & Experiment One-Sun is Far Away

To start we will make some assumptions:

1. The Sun is much farther away than the Moon. You may take that as a good story for itself, or check the evidence that the ancients used. There is so much background evidence that it might be better to just take this idea as the best story that has been found yet and not spend much time trying to prove it.

2. The Sun, Moon, and all visible planets are roughly spherical.

3. That calculations based on a curved surface Earth show drops in level at greater distances:

Earth

Circumference = 40000 Km = 24800 miles
Diameter = 12732 Km = 7894 miles

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Project; Does 19th Century Evidence Tell You Whether Earth is Flat or Rotund?

Do You Believe that the Earth is a Rotund Object in Space?

 

Is your belief based on personal observation of evidence or is it only because a large number of teachers, including your parents told that this was the case?

In this project you will be asked to suspend your belief in what space traveling cameras have shown you, namely that Earth is an oblate spheroid. The Earth looks roughly spherical from space. But pretend that you were living prior to any space travel and had to use only evidence you could gather rigth here on the surface from direct observation. What story best explains the evidence? Might a Flat Earth Story work better than a Round Earth Story?

 

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Site Resources Recovered

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Introduction

Bruce

Here is that Langston's Ant suddenly purposeful. Teaching was a happy accident for me, since I did not plan on it. I had great teachers but:

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