Egyptians "believed" RET

Quote from: Tom Bishop on November 10, 2009, 09:20:16 PM

Quote from: markjo on November 10, 2009, 09:16:53 PM

Quote from: Tom Bishop on November 10, 2009, 07:38:42 PM

Eratosthenes didn't discuss the diameter of the sun at sunset. It's a topic separate from the shadow experiment.

I don't recall Eratosthenes mentioning that he had calculated the distance to the sun with his shadow experiment either.

Eratosthenes claimed that his shadow experiment could be used to calculate both the circumference of the earth and the distance to the sun.

I'm a neutral party that's just came upon this thread. You, sir, have been wrong many, many times and can't admit it. It's okay to be wrong about things, so long as you learn from it. To deny what is obviously truth...well, I just can't understand why you would want to do such a thing.

I'm not wrong. Eratosthenes used his shadow experiment to describe the distance from the sun in addition to the circumference of the earth.

Eratosthenes didn't discuss the diameter of the sun at sunset. It's a topic separate from the shadow experiment.

But as has already been explained to you Tom, the shadow experiment in itself disproves the idea of a flat earth, since it positions the sun a variety of heights depending on where the experiment is conducted. Remember, the article you cited positioned the sun at a different height to the one you propose.

The fact that the diameter of the sun does not vary as would be observed on a flat earth is just further evidence against it.

Kind of like a cherry on a cake.

Eratosthenes claimed that his shadow experiment could be used to calculate both the circumference of the earth and the distance to the sun.

You are making a very precise claim about what Eratosthenes said. Do you have the text where Eratosthenes himself described the experiment? Or are you, as usual, just trolling?

The subject is irrelevant for anything apart from evaluating your propensity to troll, since the sun is there every morning, and you can do the experiment for yourself, with little more than your Celestron telescope, a sun filter for your telescope and some gallons of gas for your car, but since you have the exact text written by Eratosthenes, I would love to expose him as a bad scientist, claiming to be able to measure the distance to the sun without a good experiment designed for it. Please, give me the text and I can become the "Basher of Greek Geniuses" in my local History Club.

Quote from: Tom Bishop on November 10, 2009, 01:37:06 PM

Quote from: Its a Sphere on November 10, 2009, 06:20:59 AM

Also, ask yourself why soldiers in the field read maps at night with red flashlights.

Because a bright white flashlight will catch onto the atmosphere and give away their position as a big bulbous target.

The real reason is to protect their night vision, as red light does not trigger a bright light response in the human eye as much as other colours - rod cells are rather insensitive to red.

Bingo

But as has already been explained to you Tom, the shadow experiment in itself disproves the idea of a flat earth, since it positions the sun a variety of heights depending on where the experiment is conducted.

Where's the data for that contention?

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But as has already been explained to you Tom, the shadow experiment in itself disproves the idea of a flat earth, since it positions the sun a variety of heights depending on where the experiment is conducted.

Where's the data for that contention?

You have the data from two places: Alexandria and Sienne, as collected by Eratosthenes, and Florida and Pennsylvania, as collected by Millersville University. And the height of the sun, calculated from the data from the two experiments, does not match by a factor of 1.8!

And if you do not like your own sources, there is a third set of data, provided by you! According to you, the sun is on the zenith during the equinox on the Equator, and at an altitude of 45 degrees when you are 3000 miles North of the Equator, so you get the famous 3000 mile high Sun. And, surprise surprise, this third measurement gives a height different than any of the two other experiments!

How many more sets of data will you require? Remember, all of these come from you or a source you praise.

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But as has already been explained to you Tom, the shadow experiment in itself disproves the idea of a flat earth, since it positions the sun a variety of heights depending on where the experiment is conducted.

Where's the data for that contention?

*sigh*  Tom, the proof is in the math.  In order to have a viable method to calculate the height of the sun above the FE, the process must be able to make consistent predictions from different locations.  You are proposing the use of a right triangle to calculate the height of the sun above the FE.  This means that the relationship between the angular elevation of the sun and the distance to the location on the FE directly below the sun must be consistent.  Anyone who paid attention is trig class can tell you that it isn't.

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But as has already been explained to you Tom, the shadow experiment in itself disproves the idea of a flat earth, since it positions the sun a variety of heights depending on where the experiment is conducted.

Where's the data for that contention?

In the article you linked.

Using the values 50 degrees and 60 degrees as measured on the trip, with b=1000 miles, we find that h is approximately 2000 miles.