There are a multitude of methods in which any one can prove that the earth is a sphere.

These are just the arguments that don't require much physics knowledge to explain, there are others that are more technical, but I think that the simplest arguments are the best.įrank DiBonaventuro, B.S., Physics grad, The Citadel, Air Force officer Also, pictures taken of the Earth in the last 50 years have proved absolutely conclusively that the Earth is round. If the Earth were not round, whole hemispheres would have different atmospheric pressure and significantly different sea levels. Since the force of gravity is roughly the same everywhere on the globe, it could be surmised that the Earth must be spherical. When Newton discovered and measured the force of gravity, that number could then be tested anywhere the theory was known. With the invention of the compass, and improved map-making, people began to dare more, and with the return of Columbus from his trans-Atlantic voyage, the concept of the Earth as flat was shattered.įurther proof of the Earth being round came after the voyage of Columbus. Ships that ventured past sight of land were often lost, and thus it was generally believed that the world simply *stopped* at the end of the horizon. Hundreds of years ago, before the invention of the compass or sextant, precise navigation for ships was difficult, even with the stars.

There can be two explanations for this - one, that the Earth at some point just stops, as if you were looking off the edge of a table. On the clearest of days, the only restriction to one's range of sight is the horizon. there's a horizon, meaning that the surface that one is observing from is not an infinite plane. This is a question that has been asked for many years, and there are some very intuitive, and some not-so-intuitive answers. Paul Walorski, B.A., Part-time Physics/Astronomy Instructor Once again, the only solid that always projects a round shadow is a sphere.

Every time that shadow is seen, its edge is round. When a full Moon occurs in the plane of Earth's orbit, the Moon slowly moves through Earth's shadow. The geometry of a lunar eclipse has been known sinceĪncient Greece. One of the oldest proofs of the Earth's shape, however, can be seen from the ground and Every picture ofĮarth ever taken shows only a circular shape, and the only geometric solid which looks like a

Astronauts and space probes have done just that. How can one prove that the world is round?Īnswer Now that we have access to space, the easiest way to prove the Earth is spherical is to leave it and view it from a distance.

Proof the earth is not flat