if the earth is a sphere...?

Question

how can the north, south, east west make sense. To me it only make sense on the way the map is illustrated. otherwise i dont know the concept of eastern or western countries

Answer 1

I see your dilemma, since if you travel far enough east, you'll eventually end up in western countries.

Places are called 'east' when they are east (in the direction of sunrise) of something else, which is then called 'west.' Like eastern Europe being east of the rest of Europe. As far as the "far East" is concerned, it was called that since it was east of the civilized world at the time the name was coined. Of course, this also goes for north and south, with north being indicated by the magnetic pole. All other directions spring from there.

It's not that there is an east and west stamped on the sphere (or oblate spheroid - thanks, Weatherman) of the earth, but things are to the east and west of other things. There is also the matter of value in map reading, as you mentioned.

For those who say north is "up" ... all this time I though the sky was up!!

Answer 2

An absolute north and south are created because Earth is spinning - hence the North and South Poles. So a northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere is fairly obvious.

East and West must always be relative. The earliest cultures realized that the Sun (and all other celestial objects) always rises somewhere in the East, and sets somewhere in the West. In fact, many early maps had East as "up".

Since East and West are always relative, exactly which side of Earth is the Eastern Hemisphere and which is the Western Hemisphere is completely arbitrary. There's probably some historic reason for the way it was decided, but I don't know what it was exactly. Probably has a lot to do with Europe, though.

Answer 3

Well the earth is really an oblate spheroid but for this question it will be OK as a sphere.

The reason Eastern and Western countries are referred to as such is that European land mass used to be the world as far as the "Educated" people were concerned. Sense they didn't know about North and South America.

Now eventually when the Columbus discovered America (actually I think it was the Scandanavians but regardless) He went WEST so these countries I were referred to as the Western Countries and Europe was the Eastern.

Answer 4

It's not a sphere, it's an oblate spheroid that is wider round the equator than round the poles.

As for directions, magnetic compasses point north, from there you have the other directions.

But the concept of East and West is a strange one as technically anything East of London is eastern, anything west is western as that's where the 0 degree line runs.

Answer 5

you really cant see that in your head? when you see a map laying flat, do you really think that greenland is that big? anyway, yes the eastern and western country concept is a little wierd for us Americans...that naming concept stems from Europe. For most of human history those countries around the Mediterannean have been considered the center of the world. The Middle East, Europe, Russia, North Africa...From that point of view can you see why the British or French would refer to China as the far east? For them they could cross over land 'far' to the 'East' and they would reach China. And thats why Colombus was sailing for the WEST Indies when he found America...In his point of view sailing from Europe they were coming West. We, in America have the bad habit of considering ourselves as the center of the world, which is why the statement 'Far East' doesnt make sense to us, since Japan and China are alot closer to us if we go west. I hope this clarifies...

Answer 6

On a globe the east/west portion refers to the position relative to the prime meridian, which passes through Greenwich England.

Though you could report your east/west position as 270 degrees east, it would more commonly be reported as 90 degrees west -- both are the same since there's 360 degrees in a circle.

Incidently it's due to it being this center of navigation that is why Greenwich Mean Time is also the standard for time measurements. Those minute and second measurements between degrees correspond to minutes and seconds of time with an hour being 15 degrees.

Answer 7

It's a sphere (roughly) with a rotation on a set axis. So there are two "ends". The rotation creates a magnetic field, and magnets are described as having poles. What makes the "top" north and the "bottom" south are up for debate, but once you decide what the "top" is, the rest of the compass follows.

Answer 8

The earth is not a perfect sphere, it is fatter in the middle from spinning and flatter at the poles. It has all those bumpy mountains and deep crevases. There are beautiful pictures taken from space of our sphere. The concept of eastern and western countries started long ago and seems to have held on. There really is no division. Maps are easier to carry around, but globes spin better.

Answer 9

Ya, i always wondered that too.. Well heres A solution...
There is a north east south and west because there is a part (usually between north/south america and Asia) where they divide it in half so they can lay it out flat on a map. Then everywhere on the left (america) is considered west, and vice versa. If you were to zoom in to like, i dunno, Toronto Ontario Canada, then it would be like, East/West toronto, inside Ontario which would be considered the east, of North America which would be considered West. They've decided that maps would look like that from now on so that they could tell north east south and west. It all depends on which area of earth you look at.

Answer 10

The north and south directions refer to the magnetic poles. It is the magnetic fields produced by these poles that determine which way is north ("up") and which way is south ("down"). Here's the kicker: It is actually a point in Canada (NOT the North pole) that is the magnetic north. Shortly after you pass this, your compass will spin around.