who are the truthers

flat earth is not established as truth yet

quite the opposite

why do flat earthers think rockets don't work in space

@Citizen Z image text is wrong, can't see the bottom of the mountains

THus we can throw that one out

@Rudi let's see a picture of you and see how it compares to standards for looks

@Citizen Z same thing, the text of that image is still wrong

your mind must be making up that you're seeing something that isn't ther

@AstralSentient @jeremy the exact equation for how a circle distances away from a tangent line is R[1-cos(d/R]

that is approximately 8*d^2

8*d^2 is an approximation, tha'ts a parabola

it's close but not exact, exact formula is that of a circle

it's weird taht when flat earhers say "8 inches per mile squared" they can't write the proper equation to describe what they're saying

their words sound like h=8/d^2

but what they're trying to say is h=8d^2

compare the two equations, do they give exactly the same result as a function of d?

no i'm saying the equation that flerfers use, is a parabola, not a circle

thus it can't be an exact measure of how much a circle curves away from a tangent line

can you write teh formula that you think is accurate?

no there isn't, not away from a tangent line

as you go further away, the circle gets further away from its tangent linle

go ahead and plot the two eqautions as a function of d, and use R=6371 km

if you redefine your starting point each mile, yes

but if you measure from teh same starting point, no, h would be larger for subsequent miles

each would measure teh same amount of curvature over one mile, b/c they're effectively starting at a new point, each mile, drawing a new tangent line

those words don't make sense, maybe if you wrote an equation i could evaluate it. It sounds like you're saying h=8/d^2

if so, then no, that's incorrect

this is why its important to pay attention in math class,

Math has value, even in this simple example, of trying to share an idea

here i have something favorited that shows the equation

http://earthcurvature.com/

@jeremy draw a line tangent to the top of the circle, horizontally

then measure teh vertical distance from the line to the circle, and different locations along the top-right quadrant of the circle

see the pattern if follows?

that is h=R[1-cos(d/R)]

dunno what you mean by 'equal amount of curvature'

we're trying to see how much curve there is as a function of distance

which way are you giong an inch, along the circle?

sure they do

that is correct

ok so how do we use this regarding the earth

i saw you guys debating how the earth curve is calculated

Why are we forgetting the earth

You asked for a formula that works for the whole sphere

b/c that's an approximation of the proper formulat

only valid over a certain distance

It's just a simpler formula

Surveyors use it

So do you understand the equations now

I'll summarize

h is amount of curve, d is distance away from where you start

h=8*d^2 is one equation

h=R[1-cos(d/R)] is another equation

the 2nd is more accurate

the first is good for several hundred miles

the first is a parabola, the 2nd is a circl

the 2nd is more accurate

the first is close, for small values of d

a parabola is not a circle, thus it can't be used to accurately represent a circle

@jeremy the 2nd is a trig function, not exponential

@AstralSentient well it is accurate 'enough' over the short distances, but it doesn't match a circle, it's a different shape

no more than a zigzag represents a straight line

both of what you said are teh same thing

Both the same

8d^2 is a parabola

and only matches a circle for a limited range of d

we're only concerned with the latter height

that's what these equations calculate

and since they're different equations, they give slightly different shapes

one a parabola, one a circle

the one that is a circle is better to use when considering a spherical object like the earth

exactly

the parabola doesn't match the circle, eventually they diverge

SO is there a debate to the shape of the earth?

b/c we have accuratly mapped it out, and that shows a sphere

Flight paths use this information to go from place to place

So are there any flat earth believers in here?

Nice