The truth of the matter is that railroad ties would receive uneven wear if it was really the case that this earth was some spinning marvelous globe bolting through the heavens at ridiculous speeds. In reality, we see that railroad ties wear evenly giving us yet another proof that the earth does not whirl about space in some sort of celestial race.
How so? Everything is moving with the earth. So just as your drink don't go flying to the back seat when you're driving 70 mph, railroad ties wouldnt wear out un evenly because the trains are moving with the earth.
Rotational acceleration is not conserved, just as a globularist might argue that a sharpshooter needs to account for the spin of earth, or an artillery expert might, or toilet boils might flush opposite given the Coriolis force.
The notion that direction that the water circulates in draining toilets, sinks, bathtubs, etc. is opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres is well known to be false by anyone familiar with the subject, even though as a popular notion it lives on.
https://www.snopes.com/science/coriolis.aspBallistics are different if the length of the trajectory of a projectile becomes somewhat long. For instance, if you fired a
.50 caliber Barrett rifle due north from the equator, how much correction for the Coriolis effect would be needed?
Let's say its range is 1 nautical mile (6076.1 ft; originally defined as 1/60 degree of latitude); that's pretty close to its published range (1969 yards), and makes the math easier. Muzzle velocity is stated to be 2,799 ft/s, so the projectile is in flight for, call it 2.2 seconds. At the equator, the earth's rotation is to the east at 24,900 mi / 24 h = 1038 mi/hr = 1521.666666667 ft/sec. At 1 minute north latitude, this eastward rotational speed is 1520 ft/sec * cos (0.0167°) = 1,521.6666020 ft/sec, s, a difference of 6.438 X 10
-5 ft/sec, for a total deflection of 1.416 X 10
-4 feet, or 0.0017 inches (1.7 mils) to the east (right) of the intended point. Compared to the 0.5 inch diameter of the projectile, that's not much, over a distance of more than 6000 feet. At the poles the Coriolis effect is greatest. If you're at the north pole fire this rifle at a target 1 nm away, its eastward velocity is 0 (mi/hr, ft/sec, furlongs/fortnight, whatever). 1' of latitude away, the eastward rotational velocity is 1521.666666667 ft/sec * cos (89.8333°) = 0.443 ft/sec, so in the 2.2 seconds of flight, the projectile will pass 0.97 feet to the right (west) of the target, which is pretty significant.
So, clearly, the latitude you're looking at makes a significant difference.
Anyway... since the Coriolis effect can differ by almost five orders of magnitude when measured over a mile from the equator and from a pole, what latitude were you considering when you surmised that the Coriolis effect was significant between rails about 5 feet apart?
The fact remains that the Coriolis effect is significant only for large-scale phenomena, not toilets, and kitchen sinks.
You can read about the analysis in our library. For example, Carpenter I know talks of this, as do many others.
In your example, if the car was turning, your drink would certainly move. This is a consequence of acceleration. Likewise, if it was not a constant 70mph it would also experience movement of the drink. Again, jumping on an accelerating train should show movement horizontally of the jumper.
It is a universal fact, and I am humoured to find the globularists in this thread are baffled by what amounts to high school physics as they claim I'm making our view look bad.
I'm glad you get a chuckle out of the questions. Lord knows, I've gotten many from some of the zany assertions made in defense of the flat earth!
At any rate, I see no analysis quantifying how much you would expect one side of a railroad track to be worn more than another due solely to the rotation of the earth. Since you confidently made the assertion, it is natural to ask why you think it is correct when there is no obvious logical reason to expect it.
Have you considered that any small effect there might be will reverse if two trains are traveling in opposite directions? A vague suggestion to "go to our library" is not an analysis. Some specific examples of how much additional force would be applied to one rail compared to the other given the rotation rate (1/24 hrs is close enough), and whether or not you believe trains always travel the same direction on a given stretch of track, would be enlightening.
This is all high-school level physics. Unless you can provide some convincing enlightenment to the contrary, it does make you look bad.