why is the world round?

Answer 1

if it was flat we would fall off

Answer 2

The reason the world is round is similar to the reason that a drop of water is round. Everything that has mass also attracts other things towards it by using gravity. You are attracted to everything - wheelbarrows, marrrows and even poo, but becuase those things and you are so small, the attraction is so slight you can hardly tell. Since everything is attracted to the middle of everything, the rocks and general stuff that makes up the earth is equally attracted to the center. So it naturally forms a sphere since that is the best shape for getting things to the center - it's diameter is equal in all parts.

BUT the earth is spinning, so this is why it isn't actually speherical. It would be if it wasn't spinning. think of the earth as a sort of tangerene, flatter on top. As the earth spins, it is sort of sucked outwards at the equator, much like the trick where you can spin a bucket of water around over your head and not get wet. Like the water in the bucket, the earth spins rather quickly and so is sucked out.

I just hope you don't get wet with that bucket...

Answer 3

When the world was made out of the disk of star dust at the creation of solar system the law of conversion of energy kicked in. The world is round because it the shape the takes the least amount of energy. The bulge in the middle is a result of the centrifugally forces acting on the world while it was a lot softer than it is now

Answer 4

When you type in a question to ask, it will do a quick check to see if similar questions have been asked, and show a link to them directly under your question. This question has been asked 5 times on that list! Why waste space asking it again?

It is round because gravity tries to pull everything together, and the shape which gives everything equal distance is a sphere. e.g. if the world was a cube, the corners would get dragged into the middle, making it more spherical.

Answer 5

The world actually isn't round. Its flatter towards the poles

Answer 6

Excellent, finally a brilliant question. Well done.

I could write page after page of what would essentially be rubbish.
But in the end it would boil down to - I just don't know.

Eagerly looking forward to some of the other answers, and they call me a pessimist.

Edit.
I'm hoping someone will talk about the properties of a spinning mass, even if just to disprove it. But then will they start talking about why it's spinning........ Poohmf.
Ahhh my head just exploded.

Answer 7

Think the whole things start with a process called "Acretion" where smaller bodies collied and build into a bigger body until it forms its own gravity, it is continually feeding on other smaller bodies, effectively cleaning up all the debrie, until its mass becomes big enough to form a sphere, heh presto you have a Planet, i think something like that!!

Answer 8

It isn't - not perfectly round, it bulges in the middle and is flatter at the poles.
The Earth has sufficient mass for it's gravity to overcome rigid body forces and achieve hydrostatic equilibrium. (It's one of the criteria for being a planet!)

Answer 9

The earth has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (nearly round) shape.

Answer 10

do you know there are still people that believe it is flat and they belong to a group called the flat earth society or something. they think all these pictures taken from space are hoaxes. i believe it is round but why it is round i dont know.

Answer 11

The world is flat.

http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/worldisflat.htm