Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?)
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@FrostCat said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@error If all the water's falling off the edge, where does new water come from? Is there a big gutter not shown in that picture with a big pipe bringing it back up? (Ringworld explicitly did that with soil erosion.)
Yes, that is clearly the biggest problem this theory has.
Edit: I actually think the polar ice "ring" is keeping the water in, and the wispy stuff around the edges looks like atmosphere.
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@error I think gravity get sideways at the edges. That's what cause waves.
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@FrostCat said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
If all the water's falling off the edge, where does new water come from? Is there a big gutter not shown in that picture with a big pipe bringing it back up?
It all makes sense, man, the turtles, the shrooms, everything!
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@error said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
I actually think the polar ice "ring" is keeping the water in
If we don't stop global warming now, the ice ring will melt and all of our water will flow off the edge of the earth!
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@error said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
If we don't stop global warming now, the ice ring will melt and all of our water will flow off the edge of the earth!
At the very least, the ice will shift and it'll reach a tipping point and we'll fall off the turtle!
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@Onyx said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
the shrooms
I think it's the shrooms that are helping you make sense of it all…
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@FrostCat said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@error If all the water's falling off the edge, where does new water come from? Is there a big gutter not shown in that picture with a big pipe bringing it back up? (Ringworld explicitly did that with soil erosion.)
Magic. For a SF approach to a flat world, read Strata, which catches the water with a molecule sieve.
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@dkf Imma let you finish, but you need to stop being a penguin first. Stop it!
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@Onyx said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@dkf Imma let you finish
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@error said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
Yes, that is clearly the biggest problem this theory has.
Meh--I'm willing to accept a hypothetical universe where the laws of physics allow for Discworld.
@error said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
I actually think the polar ice "ring" is keeping the water in, and the wispy stuff around the edges looks like atmosphere.
Unless gravity or something else is keeping it there, the same problem applies: a pressure gradient will otherwise eventually push all the atmosphere off the disc.
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@FrostCat The disc itself is some sort of super-heavy material (“neutronium” or something), so there's a non-standard gravitational field. The usual calculations for atmosphere retention are done with spheres in mind as the maths is simpler; you'd need to redo.
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@dkf I don't think "a sheet of neutronium" is stable to begin with though.
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@fbmac said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@error I think gravity get sideways at the edges. That's what cause waves.
I'm pretty sure if you fall off the edge you do a weird orbit under the turtle and eventually land back on the disc.
I read that somewhere but maybe it was a dream.
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@AyGeePlus The orbit coincides with the magnetic field. On our planet, that's what makes ICBMs work.
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This post is deleted!
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@pydsigner said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@AyGeePlus The orbit coincides with the magnetic field. On our planet, that's what makes ICBMs work.
I don't get this post. The discworld has no magnetic field; It has a thaumic field instead. The field lines run through dunmanifestin vertically at the Hub, so if the orbit followed the thaumic field lines you'd crash into A'tuin's belly.
On our planet a) the orbit doesn't coincide with the magnetic field b) ICBMs work with or without the earth's magnetic field.
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@accalia said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@Gurth no, you're wrong, clearly the earth is the inside surface of a toroidal structure created by aliens to house us in ignorance while they experiment on us!
Wake up to the truth sheeple! the truth is out there and is stranger than it seems!~
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@AyGeePlus said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
ICBMs work with or without the earth's magnetic field
They're either with it or against it. Which side are you on?
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@error said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
Edit: I actually think the polar ice "ring" is keeping the water in, and the wispy stuff around the edges looks like atmosphere.
No. The Hub is the equivalent of a pole, being the farthest point from the sun which orbits around the Rim. The Rim corresponds to an equator
And yes, water does pour continuously off in a world-encircling waterfall known as the Rimfall. I'm told it's very beautiful, though you should hope to only ever see it from a solid vantage point and, of course, from above. @FrostCat already gave the explanation I would have done
@AyGeePlus said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
I'm pretty sure if you fall off the edge you do a weird orbit under the turtle and eventually land back on the disc.
I read that somewhere but maybe it was a dream.Indeed - or at any rate it's possible for that to occur. I believe something like it happened to Rincewind in one of the first two books, but it's been ages since I read those. In The Last Hero it is intentionally done. And if you haven't read that book you really must.
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@Dreikin Holy shit, it took me a while to catch that one! Freaking brain!
Now I need to watch that movie again...
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@CarrieVS said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
In The Last Hero it is intentionally done.
I KNEW IT. I thought it was in the Light Fantastic but it turns out they just get teleported instead. I have read the Last Hero but I have apparently forgotten the plot.
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@AyGeePlus said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
I have read the Last Hero but I have apparently forgotten the plot.
You should reread it. Indeed you should buy it, and reread it at least once a year. I cannot recommend that book strongly enough. Sir Pterry on top form, IMO, and with pictures as well.
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@CarrieVS It's no thief of time, cmon.
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@CarrieVS said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
And if you haven't read that book you really must.
One of these days I really do need to read those books.
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@Onyx said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@Dreikin Holy shit, it took me a while to catch that one! Freaking brain!
Now I need to watch that movie again...
One of my favorite movies, it is. You should definitely watch it again.
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@Dreikin day off tomorrow... might make it a marathon... Dark City, 13th floor... something else in that style...
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@Onyx said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
13th floor
Don't think I've ever seen that one. Might need to though, if you're pairing it with Dark City.
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@Dreikin it's not as weird, but they fit together in my mind... I like it in either case, it's not a bad flick.
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@Dreikin said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
One of my favorite movies, it is. You should definitely watch it again.
Also The Hogfather, but save that one for the holiday season.
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@antiquarian It's LeBron Day, perfect time to watch any holiday film you like :)
I suggest:
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@antiquarian said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
@Dreikin said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
One of my favorite movies, it is. You should definitely watch it again.
Also The Hogfather, but save that one for the holiday season.
I'm waiting till I catch up on the reading, first. But I'm doing so little proper reading these days I might skip ahead, as it were.
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@Yamikuronue said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
any holiday film you like
I suggest:Nope.
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@Yamikuronue said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
I suggest:
Does Eartha Kitt sing the theme song?
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@FrostCat said in Round vs. Flat (vs. Oblate Spheroid?):
Does Eartha Kitt sing the theme song?
More importantly, does she turn anyone into a llama?