Flat Earth?

[3s-gtech]

He doesn't believe in Science? Then he won't need to reach escape velocity to fly far, far away and become Space's problem.

[mikeprice]

Oh dear... he's going up into the air using a steam based bottle rocket. Has he had children? Does he still qualify for a Darwin?

 

I would imagine they are already writing up the award text

[korifugi]

He doesn't believe in Science? Then he won't need to reach escape velocity to fly far, far away and become Space's problem.

 

Sadly, while he may not believe in science (and possibly gravity) - it most definitely believes in him, as he may find with a bit of a "bump".

[mikeprice]

I presume his plan is to get as high as possible (for his machinery) and then get out the flat earthers favourite measuring device - a 12 inch ruler - and hold it up to eye level to see if the horizon is still flat

 

Then all he has to do is land safely (wonder if he has remembered that bit??) and he can tell the whole world how he has disproved the whole of science

[6Foot2]

He doesn't believe in Science? Then he won't need to reach escape velocity to fly far, far away and become Space's problem.

With the greatest confidence, I can predict that at some point along his parabola path Newtonian physics will take over with the inevitable consequences (landing with a bump!)

 

[mikeprice]

With the greatest confidence, I can predict that at some point along his parabola path Newtonian physics will take over with the inevitable consequences (landing with a bump!)

 

 

as far as I know the flat earth theory says that gravity is caused by the Earth moving upwards at a steady speed (yes - I have read up about the whole theory!!)

Hence gravity is a constant no matter how high you go

 

If his machine is built to reach a height to be able to clearly see the curvature of the Earth then his calculation assuming constant acceleration towards the Earth should be out by a bit

 

So I'm hoping he will reach far higher than he expects

Hence his decent will be quite long

 

so - assuming that his STEAM powered machine doesn't kill him then his landing (i.e. when the Earth catchs up with him on its constant travel upwards) should be an interesting experience

 

Oh - and I wonder if he has something to breath at those heights??

 

 

Still - what could possibly go wrong

[atcoates]

This guy is blasting off in a homemade rocket to test 'Flat Earth' theory - BBC Three

 

At least now we can put this argument to bed when we find out what shape the earth really is!

Edited November 24, 2017 by atcoates

[6Foot2]

Link: Ex-England cricketer and Ashes hero Freddie Flintoff is 'convinced the earth is FLAT' - Mirror Online

 

...However, the sportsman does not believe Earth is totally flat - he claims it is shaped like a TURNIP.

 

He added: "The middle is the North Pole, around the outside is the South Pole which is like a big wall of ice. This is why all governments now have bases on the South Pole."

 

[korifugi]

This guy is blasting off in a homemade rocket to test 'Flat Earth' theory - BBC Three

 

I’m a walking reality show, Hughes has said of his stunts.

 

Nah, not a reality show - more a quiz... 'The Weakest Link' springs to mind.

[jthompson]

Yeah, this reminds me of one of my favourite lines from Red Dwarf, where Rimmer says "We're not going to get out of this in one piece: if we do it'll be in one big, round, flat piece".

[mavhc]

This guy is blasting off in a homemade rocket to test 'Flat Earth' theory - BBC Three

 

That guy is getting way too much publicity.

 

Rest In Pieces.

[elsiegee40]

That guy is in the Amusing News and Anecdotes thread too. I’ll move the posts here

 

EDIT

See from post 48

Edited November 24, 2017 by elsiegee40

[elsiegee40]

Link: Ex-England cricketer and Ashes hero Freddie Flintoff is 'convinced the earth is FLAT' - Mirror Online

 

 

 

 

Post moved from Anecdotes thread

[Bagpuss66]

Post moved from Anecdotes thread

 

Maybe he should read this article https://www.popsci.com/10-ways-you-can-prove-earth-is-round#page-16... or stick to rubbish T.V. quiz shows!!

[mikeprice]

Maybe he should read this article https://www.popsci.com/10-ways-you-can-prove-earth-is-round#page-16... or stick to rubbish T.V. quiz shows!!

 

Actually the flat earth theory says that what we call gravity is actually caused by the Earth constantly moving upwards at a constant rate - so things like centre of gravity don't apply

 

They just don't believe that gravity as a force actually exists - it is simply the effect if the movement

 

so this article - interesting as it is - doesn't put any holes in the flat earth theory

 

They are plenty of others though

[3s-gtech]

Flat Earth is not a theory! A theory needs scientific evidence to exist. It's a hypothesis at best, and shouldn't be labelled as anything else (other than maybe absolute ********).

[6Foot2]

Flat Earth is not a theory! A theory needs scientific evidence to exist. It's a hypothesis at best, and shouldn't be labelled as anything else (other than maybe absolute ********).

 

The website seems to be a little self contradictory. Example:

 

From this page: Frequently Asked Questions - The Flat Earth Wiki

 

This image is part of an 'explanation' for why there are seasons:

 

 

The use of Northern, and Southern Hemisphere suggests a three dimensional body, rather than a flat surface.

 

/Pedantic Mode.

 

[elsiegee40]

The website seems to be a little self contradictory. Example:

 

From this page: Frequently Asked Questions - The Flat Earth Wiki

 

This image is part of an 'explanation' for why there are seasons:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]46369[/ATTACH]

 

The use of Northern, and Southern Hemisphere suggests a three dimensional body, rather than a flat surface.

 

/Pedantic Mode.

 

So in winter the sun is orbiting the north pole much faster than in summer. Under that model it must travel much slower at the summer solstice than on the winter solstice

 

I note there is no explanation as to how the sun mysteriously speeds up and slows down... or is that just an inconvenience they're ignoring?

Edited November 25, 2017 by elsiegee40

[6Foot2]

Link: Flat-Earther postpones steam-powered rocket flight after motorhome/launchpad breaks down

 

...The plan was to take off from an airstrip in Amboy, a ghost town in the Mojave Desert.

 

It was a trial run to test the rocket’s ability to fly 1,800 feet high at a speed of up to 500mph.

 

The town’s owner had given permission, but Mr Hughes said he was contacted on Wednesday by worried federal authorities, apparently alerted by the rash of publicity.

 

“We were contacted by the bureau of land management… and they informed me that they are not going to allow me to do the event there, at least at that location,” said Mr Hughes...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU0eFpY8RXk

[synaesthesia]

Shame really, the average IQ on this planet was about to increase slightly.

[6Foot2]

Shame really, the average IQ on this planet was about to increase slightly.

 

He still plans to 'prove that the Earth is flat' with a 'flight' in his 'rocket'

 

...Mr Hughes, who is sponsored by a flat Earth group, is unperturbed. He told the Washington Post he may have delay the flight until Tuesday.

 

Eventually he hopes to travel high enough to obtain photographic evidence that the Earth is flat.

 

[mikeprice]

He still plans to 'prove that the Earth is flat' with a 'flight' in his 'rocket'

 

 

 

 

 

well - to be pedantic - it will be a flight and it is a rocket so the quotation marks are unnecessary

 

and he has history of doing this before - however he did spend a long time in hospital after landing - which looked more like a crash

 

I am looking forward to seeing how he plans to get a steam powered rocket up to 35000 feet to see the curvature of the earth

[Priscilla110]

The most ironic thing about flat earthers is that they say the earth is flat, but recognize other planetary objects as spheres, like the moon and the sun.

[Andrew_C]

The most ironic thing about flat earthers is that they

can walk and chew gum at the same time.

[sted]

The website seems to be a little self contradictory. Example:

 

From this page: Frequently Asked Questions - The Flat Earth Wiki

 

This image is part of an 'explanation' for why there are seasons:

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]46369[/ATTACH]

 

The use of Northern, and Southern Hemisphere suggests a three dimensional body, rather than a flat surface.

 

/Pedantic Mode.

 

 

even the explanation given in Discworld is a better explanation of seasons on a flat plane than that and thats all but a throwaway line in a fantasy book (i bet more research/thought went into that as well)

 

"Since the disc's tiny orbiting sunlet maintains a fixed orbit while the majestic disc turns slowly beneath it, it will be readily deduced that a disc year consists of not four but eight seasons. The summers are those times when the sun rises or sets at the nearest point on the Rim, the winters those occasions when it rises or sets at a point around ninety degrees along the circumference."