The earth we live on now is round. But there are certain groups who believe that the Earth is flat.
So what would happen if the Earth were really flat? Will life on a flat Earth be the same as on a spherical Earth? Here are eight oddities that will happen on a flat Earth, as quoted from Live Science, Sunday (30/7/2021).
1. No gravity
Based on the calculations of James Clerk Maxwell, a mathematician and physicist from the 1850s, a disk-shaped Earth could not be created under the current state of gravity.
Meanwhile, Columbia University geophysicist James Davis says on a flat Earth gravity might pull all objects toward the center of the disk, which is the North Pole.
In this scenario, the farther away from the North Pole, the flatter the gravitational pull. This will definitely make life in the world a mess.
2. The atmosphere will disappear
Without gravity, a flat Earth would not be able to sustain the atmosphere that surrounds it because the pull of gravity can maintain this protective layer of the Earth.
If there is no atmosphere, then the sky during the day will be black because sunlight no longer diffuses when it enters the atmosphere and makes the sky blue as we know it.
Without the protection of the atmosphere, life on Earth would be destroyed. Water will immediately evaporate in space and its temperature will drop drastically so that the rest of the water will immediately freeze.
3. Horizontal rain
If gravity pulls toward a flat Earth center, in this case the North Pole, rainwater will also point toward the same center. This is because rain can fall to Earth thanks to gravity and will fall at the point with the strongest gravitational pull.
Therefore, ‘normal’ rainfall will only occur in the center of a flat Earth where gravitational pull is strongest. Farther from the North Pole, rain will flow horizontally.
Water in rivers and seas will also point to the North Pole, which means all the water on Earth will be concentrated at the center of the planet and dry at its ends.
4. GPS does not work
Most likely the satellite will not exist on a flat Earth because it is difficult to orbit a flat area. Columbia University geophysicist James Davis predicted that even GPS would not work on a flat Earth.
The GPS in our phones today relies on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Not only that, GPS also works for travel information and for locating emergency callers, so you can imagine how chaotic life on Earth would be without GPS.
5. The journey takes longer
Traveling from one point to another on a flat Earth can take longer. Not only because GPS is not working but also because the distance that must be traveled is getting longer.
According to the flat Earth theory, the North Pole is at the center of the Earth and Antarctica is a giant ice wall on the edge of the planet. Because they could not fly around the Earth and had to cross it, the travel time would increase significantly.
For example, if you want to fly from Australia to McMurdo station in Antarctica which is across from the flat Earth map, you have to fly through the North Pole, as well as North and South America.
6. No aurora
The spherical earth has a magnetic field that bends around the planet from one pole to another. This magnetic field is formed from molten metal that surrounds the Earth's core which then produces an electric current.
On a flat Earth, without a dense core that produces a magnetic field, the protective layer would not exist. Similarly, an aurora or Northern Lights is formed when charged particles from the sun collide with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the magnetosphere, releasing energy in the form of an auroral light show.
But that’s only a small problem that happens if the Earth loses its magnetosphere. Without this layer the Earth will not be protected from the solar wind and all living things will be exposed to harmful solar radiation.
7. The night sky everywhere will be the same
If the Earth were completely flat, it would not be divided into northern and southern hemispheres as it is now. This means that day and night in Australia and the United States will be the same, not upside down as it is now.
8. No storms
Tropical storms that cause severe damage to the U.S. every year will never happen on a flat Earth. The movement of tropical storms is caused by the Coriolis effect on Earth, which causes storms in the northern hemisphere to rotate clockwise, and storms in the southern hemisphere to rotate counterclockwise.
But on a flat Earth, this Coriolis effect cannot be made. Without the effects of Coriolis, storms, hurricanes and hurricanes would not have happened.
