Scientists Dismiss Flat Earth Claims, Explain How Radar Technology Accounts for Earth’s Curvature

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Scientific experts have debunked claims suggesting that the Earth is flat, highlighting the flawed logic behind such assertions. According to scientists, radar technologies take into account the Earth’s curvature in their calculations. The shape of the Earth has been extensively proven through various evidence, including images captured from space.

Radar technology relies on the use of radio waves to detect and track objects in the atmosphere. It has a wide range of applications, such as weather tracking, monitoring airspace, maritime surveillance, and determining the speed of moving objects.

A typical radar system consists of an antenna and a rotating dish. As the dish rotates, the antenna emits beams of energy (radio waves) into the atmosphere. The antenna can send out beams at different angles, slightly above and below the horizon line, as it rotates.

When these waves encounter an object, like an airplane or water droplet, a portion of the energy is scattered and reflected back towards the radar dish. By analyzing the strength of the reflected signal, the radar can calculate the size and distance of the object.

Jessica Schultz, deputy director of the National Weather Service Radar Operations Center, explains that radar technology takes into account the angle of the beam and the curvature of the Earth when determining the location of detected objects. Ground-based radars are typically angled upward to some extent, and the radar beam gets higher as it travels further due to the Earth’s curvature.

This curvature and atmospheric refraction have been acknowledged by Armin Doerry, a radar researcher at Sandia National Laboratories, in a report from 2013. Doerry emphasizes that the Earth is not flat and radar beams do not travel in straight lines. As the range increases, the effects of the Earth’s curvature become more noticeable.

Schultz and Doerry further explain that radar beams do not travel in straight lines due to the non-uniform density, moisture, and temperature of the atmosphere. The bending of radar beams along the Earth’s surface is influenced by the variation in atmospheric conditions, with higher altitudes being less dense.

The notion that the Earth is flat contradicts centuries of scientific evidence. The ancient Greeks were among the first to theorize the spherical nature of the Earth. Modern scientists have since accumulated abundant evidence supporting this understanding.

Physicist Jason Steffen highlights the visibility of Polaris, also known as the North Star, as evidence against a flat Earth. If the Earth were flat, Polaris would be visible from all locations. However, individuals in the Southern Hemisphere cannot observe this star, confirming the Earth’s spherical shape.