Is the Earth flat, round or what.?

Question

The way I see it, it is a sphere.
The proof that it is not flat, like a pancake, is in the fact that the earth has phases. Light, dark, day, night, seasons.
The person who wrote about the creation of the sun and moon in Genesis chapter 1 obviously knew the earth was a sphere.
Go ahead try to argue with that.

Answer 1

God made the earth and other planets round. I learn.

Answer 2

It is a sphere, flattened at the poles and bulging at the equator. The same shape as any other object in the Universe that is made of similar elements rotating around a sun at a similar distance. The chemical nature of the particles that coalesced to make the Sun and the the Earth and the physical laws governing our movement around the sun dictate the early shape of our planet. Another important consideration in our final shape is the history of bombardment by other bodies. Long ago, Earth was hit by a planet the size of Mars, out of the collision, the Moon was formed, and our axis of rotation tilted. The collision not only change the shape of the planet for ever but also may the appearance of life on Earth possible.

Answer 3

The expression figure of the Earth has various meanings in geodesy according to the way it is used and the precision with which the Earth's size and shape is to be defined. The actual topographic surface is most apparent with its variety of land forms and water areas. This is, in fact, the surface on which actual Earth measurements are made. It is not suitable, however, for exact mathematical computations because the formulas which would be required to take the irregularities into account would necessitate a prohibitive amount of computations. The topographic surface is generally the concern of topographers and hydrographers.

The Pythagorean concept of a spherical Earth offers a simple surface which is mathematically easy to deal with. Many astronomical and navigational computations use it as a surface representing the Earth. While the sphere is a close approximation of the true figure of the Earth and satisfactory for many purposes, to the geodesists interested in the measurement of long distances—spanning continents and oceans—a more exact figure is necessary. Closer approximations range from modelling the shape of the entire Earth as an oblate spheroid or an oblate ellipsoid to the use of spherical harmonics or local approximations in terms of local reference ellipsoids. The idea of a flat Earth, however, is still acceptable for surveys of small areas. Plane-table surveys are made for relatively small areas and no account is taken of the curvature of the Earth. A survey of a city would likely be computed as though the Earth were a plane surface the size of the city. For such small areas, exact positions can be determined relative to each other without considering the size and shape of the total Earth.

In the mid- to late- 20th century, research across the geosciences contributed to drastic improvements in the accuracy of the Figure of the Earth. The primary utility (and the motivation for funding, mainly from the military) of this improved accuracy was to provide geographical and gravitational data for the inertial guidance systems of ballistic missiles. This funding also drove the expansion of geoscientific disciplines, fostering the creation and growth of various geoscience departments at many universities

Answer 4

Um... I dont know the question here... but ill take it as in "this is proof that god exists", so here goes my counter argument:

Well, I just want to say that I do not believe in god, and see that believing in god is something that is an insult to inteligence. Did we realy evolve into such intelectual species, where we have machinery that does work for us, where we can sit down on our beds and watch what is happening on the other side of the world over a television… all this and much more to be believing in a story that there is one being out there that created us and we have to follow him? Please people, wake up and see the trueth. If you ever look into history, you will see that it was chance that got you people into even believeing in this “one god”. Look at Emeperor Constatine I, who lived only a few centuries after “Jesus” was born. He was the main reason you people are christians in the first place. He also established most of the things you hold dearly today (he established the day of the sabath, etc.).

Also I want to point out that there cannot be a god. Think about this: You christians think that God is realy omnipotent and omnicient… but if this was the case, and we DO have a choice, logic contradicts these two statements, since if WE HAVE A CHOICE, then out future is undetermined, and we do not have a distiny… But if God is omnicient, (meaning knows everything) then he knows what will happen to us in the future, meaning that we DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE… how can we have a choice if he knows what choices we will make?

Anyway, final point is, dont insult your own inteligence in believe such nonsense that churches and political readers put into your heads just to have a better control of you.

Answer 5

The Earth is a Sphere, incidentally the most stable form in the universe. The Sphere is a recurring shape in nature, and I wish I could convince everyone who has lost a home this year to earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane; to consider rebuilding in a form more likely to resist those forces in the future; namely the Sphere, or, a Geodesic Dome.

Answer 6

Actually the PEOPLE who wrote genesis 1 made no mention of the shape of the earth in it. Go re-read it.

The people who wrote genesis did think that the sun and moon were BOTH little lights, and that the stars were just tiny lights set in the 'firmament', like sequins.

The only mentions of the earths shape in the bible say that it's flat and round, like a coin and that it's the motionless center of the universe.

Answer 7

You're correct. The writer of Genesis, (Moses), under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit identified the earth as a sphere, long before scientists proved it. Go figure.

Answer 8

It is geoide.
Close to the sphere, but Earth has a unique shape named like that.
The obvious proof is that when you see a ship coming, at first you can only see the top of the spar. And Colombus arrived to America, so it is not just a convex plate.

Answer 9

I believe a sphere and round are the same, right?! In most answers, it's referred to in a circular form as round is like a globe.
http://www.1728.com/diamform.htm

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sphere
sphere ( P ) Pronunciation Key (sfr) n.
Mathematics. A three-dimensional surface, all points of which are equidistant from a fixed point.
A spherical object or figure.
A celestial body, such as a planet or star.
The sky, appearing as a hemisphere to an observer: the sphere of the heavens.
Any of a series of concentric, transparent, revolving globes that together were once thought to contain the moon, sun, planets, and stars.
The extent of a person's knowledge, interests, or social position.
An area of power, control, or influence; domain. See Synonyms at field.

tr.v. sphered, spher·ing, spheres
To form into a sphere.
To put in or within a sphere.
To surround or encompass.


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[Middle English spere, from Old French espere, from Latin sphaera, from Greek sphaira.]
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sphe·rici·ty (sfî-rs-t) n.

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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


sphere (sfr)
n.

A ball-shaped or a globular body.

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spheral (sfrl) adj.


Source: The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.


sphere

n 1: a particular environment or walk of life; "his social sphere is limited"; "it was a closed area of employment"; "he's out of my orbit" [syn: domain, area, orbit, field, arena] 2: any spherically shaped artifact 3: the geographical area in which one nation is very influential [syn: sphere of influence] 4: a particular aspect of life or activity; "he was helpless in an important sector of his life" [syn: sector] 5: a solid figure bounded by a spherical surface (including the space it encloses) 6: a three-dimensional closed surface such that every point on the surface is equidistant from the center 7: the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected [syn: celestial sphere, empyrean, firmament, heavens, vault of heaven, welkin]
Source: WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University

"THE SPHERE" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sphere

Answer 10

Since the earth is supported in the air by turtles, it is logical to think that the planet is flat. It would be more easily balanced.

Answer 11

It's the shape of a sphere, but slighty flat on the poles.