FAQ

Important note

Everything written in this FAQ should be taken with a grain of salt. It's under renovations and large parts of it are inaccurate.

Welcome to the Flat Earth Society!

Thank you for taking the time to go through this FAQ. It was created in light of the realization that for someone with a "round-Earth" (RE) background, the FE theory would appear at first glance to have some glaring holes.

Recently we have had many new members joining us and asking the same questions about these holes, so joffenz decided to make a FAQ. While the original version was mostly complete, it is a work-in-progress, and we occasionally do make corrections based on inconsistencies that are raised.

I am just making a sticky out of it so that no one will have an excuse for starting a thread about a topic that has already been discussed and debated to death. It will be updated as necessary.

Disclaimer

The opinions and beliefs expressed in any posts do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of The Flat Earth Society Forum. The Flat Earth Society Forum's goal is to promote the free discussion of Flat Earth Theory as well as the free discussion of and debate of any topic of interest to our members that does not contradict Forum Rules.

The views of any individual or organization (including that of the old Flat Earth Society run by Charles K Johnson) are not necessarily shared in whole or in part by The Flat Earth Society. The only person qualified to give the official position of The Flat Earth Society (if required) is Daniel.

In addition, please remember that the views contained in 'official' threads are not necessarily shared by the Forum Staff who post them. Our moderators come from both sides of the debate, and their sole unifying purpose is to promote a smooth running forum so as to promote the emergence and discovery of truth through free discussion and argument.

Furthermore, please note that the FAQ should be considered a starting point. It addresses many questions those new to FET have about the theory but in no way represents a comprehensive, all-encompassing view of the theory. It should also be noted that not all points in the FAQ are necessarily agreed on by all FE proponents.

Important Notes

If you are new to this website, it may be a good idea to go over this FAQ and introduce yourself in The Lounge. After that, if you wish to debate about Flat Earth Theory, you may begin in Flat Earth Debate. It is recommended that your argument addresses both sides of the issue and is not bias (sample thread). This format is highly recommended if you want to be taken seriously. Nonsensical threads will be moved, locked, or deleted without notice.

If you have any questions or see anything wrong with this FAQ, you can discuss about it in Flat Earth Q&A.

Samuel Rowbotham is the man who created the Flat Earth Society over a hundred and fifty years ago. Please see Earth: Not a Globe for his original work.

Terminology

FET: Flat Earth Theory, a theory which states that the Earth is flat. FE'er: Flat Earther, or someone who believes in the FE theory.

RET: Round Earth Theory, a theory which states that the Earth is round. RE'er: Round Earther, or someone who believes in the RE theory.

DE: Dark Energy, a form of energy which accelerates the universe. (dark energy model)

AW: Aetheric Wind, a superfluidic mixture of helium and hydrogen which accelerates the universe, among other things. (aetheric wind model)

EA: Electromagnetic Acceleration, a theory which states that light curves upward, creating a horizon for the observer. (dark energy model)

UA: Universal Acceleration/Accelerator -Universal Acceleration, the acceleration of all objects in the universe caused by Dark Energy. (dark energy model) -Universal Accelerator, an object which sits underneath the Earth and pushes anything it touches. (McIntyre model) =Universal Acceleration, an incidental state of constant acceleration caused by the Aetheric Wind (aetheric wind model)

General Introduction

Q: "Is this site a joke?"

A: This site is not a joke. There are people who seriously believe the Earth is flat. However, there are also people who do not.

Q: "I found a site called alaska.net - is it also a genuine Flat Earth site?"

A: No, alaska.net is a rather crude attempt at parody, either of this site specifically or the Flat Earth movement in general.

Q: "Why do you believe the Earth is flat?"

A: It looks that way up close. In our local reference frame, it appears to take a flat shape, ignoring obvious hills and valleys. In addition, Samuel Rowbotham et al. performed a variety of experiments over a period of several years that show it must be flat. They are all explained in his book, which is linked at the top of this article.

Q: "What should I do before starting a thread on Flat Earth Theory?"

A: You should ask yourself if it is a topic that is likely to have been brought up before. If so, there is a very good chance it is already addressed by the FAQ and you should be acquainted with what it says on the subject. Be forewarned, you will be directed to the FAQ if you come up with a commonly-asked question, so you might as well read what it says now. You should also run through a few threads in the relevant forum to see if there has been any recent discussion on the subject.

Geography

Q: "When traveling in a straight direction, you will always reach the same point on the globe from where you started. How can this happen if the world is flat?"

A: The Earth is in the shape of a disk, as seen below. When one circumnavigates it, one is actually moving in a great circle around the North Pole.

Q: "Do you have a map?"

A: See this one, created by one of our members. There is also this map attributed to a person named Wilbur Voliva. This map is advocated by those who consider Antarctica as a distinct continent.

Q: "Exactly what shape is the Earth if it is flat? Square or circle?"

A: Circle, like in the UN logo. However, the earth is NOT 2D; it is in the shape of a cylinder.

Q: "Why doesn't water run off the Earth?"

A: You may notice that in this model, Antarctica is a great ring around the disk. This stops the water from escaping. Antarctica as a continent does not exist except in the Wilmore model.

Q: "Wouldn't the atmosphere be diffused into space?"

A1: In the dark energy model, there is a vector field between DE and the Earth. It is known as the DEF, which acts as a containment or barrier that ceases any interactions between DE and objects on Earth. This is why the atmolayer will not be diffused into space. Here is an explanation on the DEF's structure by one of our moderators.

A2: In the McIntyre model, the greater ice wall holds the atmolayer in place. The existence of the greater ice wall is documented in the works of Rowbotham.

A3: In the Bishop model, the containment of the atmolayer is explained by the Atmolayer Lip Hypothesis.

Q: "How does global warming affect the ice wall?"

A: Antarctica, and by extension the Ice Wall, is largely a mountain range. It just happens to be covered in ice and snow.

Q: "What about tides?"

A: The gravitational pull of the celestial bodies provides tidal effects. Others believe that there is an object called the Sub-moon that sits underneath the Earth. The moon causes the tides, and the Sub-moon balances out the effect.

Q : "Why is the North pole colder than the equator?"

A: The sun circles over the equator, so the poles do not receive the same intensity of light.

Q: "How do volcanic eruptions happen?"

A: The Earth is thick enough to have a core of molten lava. Once there is too much of it in too confined a space, it finds its way out, just as the water will come out of a full bottle if you squeeze it too hard.

Q: "What about time zones?"

A: The sun is a spotlight which shines light on a concentrated area, so not everywhere on Earth will be lit at once. Times zones exist so that everyone's clock will be at 12:00 around the time the sun is approximately directly overhead.

Q: "What about Lunar Eclipses?"

A: A celestial body, known as the antimoon, passes between the sun and moon. This projects a shadow upon the moon.

Q: "How come the travel time by air from South America to New Zealand, via the polar route, is SHORTER than the travel time going North first and then South again?"

A: The airline pilots are guided by their GPS. Remember that satellites do not exist. The replacement data given from pseudolites deliberately throwing distorting all the paths to make it the flights take different times. The curvature of these paths can add or subtract great distances without the overall turning being obvious to someone traveling it.

Q: "How can a compass work on a Flat Earth?"

A: In the dark energy model, the magnetic field is generated in the same fashion as the RE (Diagram). The magnetic south pole is near the geographic north pole, while the magnetic north pole is on the underside of the Earth. The ice wall is not the south pole, but acts as it, as it is the furthest from the center of the earth that you can follow the magnetic field. The field is vertical in this area, accounting for the aurora australis.

Q: "If you go directly south won't you eventually fall off the edge of the Earth?"

A: Yes, you will. In order to use this fact as proof you need to record a video of someone flying directly south around the world without falling off the edge. Furthermore you need to prove that your navigational equipment allows you to travel directly south without deviating.

Q: "How come when I flush my toilet in the northern hemisphere it goes counterclockwise but I have this friend in Australia and when he flushes it goes clockwise?"

A: You are mistaken. The Coriolis effect adds at most one (counter)clockwise rotation per day, and fewer as you get closer to the equator. The water in your toilet spins much faster than that (at least once per minute, or 1440 times per day), so the additional or lost rotation from the Coriolis effect would not be noticed.

Q: "How do seasons work?"

A: The radius of the sun's orbit around the Earth's axis symmetry varies throughout the year, being smallest when summer is in the northern annulus and largest when it is summer in the southern annulus.

Here are some diagrams of seasons. The first is by Nomad:

and the second is by Erasmus:

Physics

Q: "What is the circumference and diameter of the Earth?"

Circumference: 125,829 km (78,186 miles)

Diameter: 40,073 km (24,900 miles)

In both the Davis and the Bishop model, the Earth is an infinite plane.

Q: "What about the stars, sun and moon and other planets? Are they flat too? What are they made of?"

A: The sun and moon, each 32 miles in diameter, rotate at a height of 3,000 miles above sea level. As they are spotlights, they only illuminate certain places. This explains why there are nights and days on Earth. The stars are at a height of 3,100 miles above sea level, which is as far as from San Francisco to Boston. In the dark energy model, the celestial bodies are spherical and are made of ordinary matter. These spheres are being held above the Earth by DE.

In the McIntyre model, the sun and the moon are metallic discs instead. These discs are being held above the Earth by photoelectric effect. See: Photoelectric Suspension Theory. The celestial bodies are also being suspended above the Earth by photoelectric effect in the Bishop model.

Q: "Why are other planets round, but not the Earth?"

A: The Earth is not one of the other planets. The Earth is special and unlike the other bodies in numerous ways.

Q: "Please explain sunrises and sunsets."

A: It is a perspective effect. The sun is just getting farther away: it looks like it is disappearing because everything gets smaller, and eventually disappears as it gets farther away.

UPDATE:The theory of Electromagnetic Acceleration is currently being developed and reviewed by members. Once completed, Electromagnetic Acceleration will be used as an alternative in explaining sunrises, sunsets and horizons for the dark energy model only.

Q: "What about satellites? How do they orbit the Earth?"

A: Since sustained spaceflight is not possible, satellites cannot orbit the Earth. The signals we supposedly receive from them are either broadcast from towers or any number of possible pseudolites. However, temporary space-flight is possible.

Q: "What is underneath the Earth?"

A: This is unknown. Some believe it to be just rocks, others believe the Earth rests on the back of four elephants and a turtle.

Q: "What about gravity?"

A1: In the dark energy model, DE accelerates the Earth and all celestial bodies in the universe at 9.81m/s2. This is commonly known as Universal Acceleration, which produces the same effect as "gravity" in our local reference frame. See: Equivalence Principle.

A2: In both the McIntyre and the Bishop model, the Earth is being pushed up by the Universal Accelerator underneath it at 9.8m/s2. This mediates observable gravitational effects in our local reference frame.

A3: In the Davis model, the infinite plane produces a finite gravitational field with a downward pull. Click here for the mathematical formulation behind this model.

Q: "Aren't the accelerating Earth models flawed? Wouldn't planes crash into the Earth as it rises up to them?"

A: No. By the same argument, we could ask why planes do not crash into the Earth as they accelerate down towards it. The reason a plane does not crash is that its wings produce lift: when the rate of acceleration upwards equals that of gravity's pull downwards, lift causes the plane to remain at a constant altitude.

The same thing happens if the Earth is accelerating up. The plane is accelerating upwards at the same rate as the Earth, which means the distance between them does not change. Therefore, the plane stays at the same height and does not crash.

Q: "If the Earth's acceleration is constant, wouldn't it be traveling faster than light eventually?"

A: The equations of Special Relativity prevent an object with mass from reaching or passing the speed of light. Due to this restriction, these equations prove that the Earth can accelerate at a constant rate forever in our reference frame and never reach the speed of light. Click here for an in depth explanation.

Q: "In the accelerating Earth models, why does a feather fall slower than a bowling ball?"

A: It is due to air resistance. The Earth accelerates the air, and the air in turn accelerates the feather up faster than the bowling ball. In our reference frame, it appears that the feather is falling slower than the bowling ball.

Q: "In the accelerating Earth models, how does one reach terminal velocity?"

A: Once the acceleration of the object is equal to the acceleration of the Earth, the object reaches terminal velocity.

Q: "Wouldn't the Earth crunch up into itself and eventually transform into a ball if it's indeed a disc?"

A: The dark energy model assumes that the Earth does not possess a gravitational field. What we know as "gravity" is provided by the acceleration of the Earth.

Q: "What would happen if you jump off the disc's edge?"

A: You would become directly affected by UA as the Earth is, creating the illusion that you are standing next to it.

Q: "Why does g vary with altitude if the Earth simply accelerates up?"

A: The celestial bodies have a slight gravitational pull. Furthermore, a non-inertial relativistic object experiences different rates of acceleration along its length according to Special Relativity, as it is impossible for both ends to accelerate at the same rate without FTL communication between them. The front end accelerates at a lower rate than the rear end. This is why g decreases at higher altitude.

Q: "How is it that the Earth does not have a gravitational pull, but stars and the moon do?"

A: This argument is a non-sequitur. You might as well ask, "How is it that snakes do not have legs, but dogs and cats do?" Snakes are not dogs or cats. The Earth is not a star or the moon. It does not follow that each must have exactly the properties of the others, and no more.

Religion

Q: "Are most or all FE'ers biblical literalists, who feel like their religious belief system would be threatened by the round earth idea, or are there any atheists/agnostics who are FE'ers as well?"

A: Not all FE'ers are biblical literalists. In fact, the majority of Flat Earthers are nontheists (atheist, agnostic, deist).

Q: "Are there flat Earth models based on a combination of religion and science?"

A: Yes. Here is an alternative model from the Flat Earth Believers forum. This model is compiled by levee.

Space Exploration and Government

Q: "Why do the all the world Governments say the Earth is round?"

A: It's a conspiracy

Q: "NASA and other world space agencies have pictures of the Earth from space, and in those pictures the Earth is clearly a globe; in this day and age, hasn't it been proven beyond any doubt that the Earth is round?"

A: NASA and the rest of the world's space agencies who claim to have been to space are involved in a conspiracy to fake space travel. The pictures are faked using simple imaging software.

Q: "Are you saying NASA had Photoshop in the 1960s?"

A: Of course not. Back then the pictures taken were of far lower quality and were likely produced using analog means.

Q: "Why has no one taken a photo of the Earth that proves it is flat?"

A: Only those connected to the conspiracy have access to heights from which the shape of the Earth can be discerned. Also, nobody has been to the edge of the Earth and lived; conditions on the Ice Wall get increasingly treacherous the further you get out, and navigation methods become unreliable that far south. It is also possible that the conspiracy is guarding the edge to prevent people from getting too close to the truth.

Q: "How did NASA create these images with the computer technology available at the time?"

A: NASA did not send rockets into space; instead, they spent a fraction of their funding on developing increasingly advanced computers and imaging software to cover their lies.

PLEASE NOTE: This means that pictures confirming the roundness or flatness of the Earth DO NOT CONSTITUTE VALID PROOF.

Q: "What is the motive behind this conspiracy?"

A: Although their main objective can only be speculated upon, the most favored theory is that of financial gain. In a nutshell, it would logically cost much less to fake a space program than to actually have one, so those in on the conspiracy profit from the funding NASA and other space agencies receive from the government.

Q: "But if the conspiracy's motive is money, then why do they bother lying about the shape of the Earth?"

A: Their lies are not designed for the specific purpose of concealing the shape of the Earth, per se, simply for presenting evidence that they assume will be accepted by the public and scientific community. In fact, it is a strong possibility that even to this day, the conspiracy is still unaware of the true shape of the Earth.

Q: "If you're not sure about the motive, why do you say there is a conspiracy?"

A: Well it's quite simple really; if the Earth is in fact flat, then the space agencies must be lying when they say it isn't.

Q: "No one could possibly pull off such a conspiracy successfully."

A: Actually, they could.

Q: "How are the world governments organized to carry out this conspiracy?"

A: Only those governments with space agencies that have actually been to space and produced round pictures of the Earth need be in on the conspiracy. And even in those cases only a limited number of people within those governments need necessarily be involved. For the most part, even those in the highest positions of these governments are probably unaware of the conspiracy.

Q: "Why has this site not been shut down by the government?"

A: Not enough people take this site seriously for it to be perceived as a threat by those involved in the conspiracy. Shutting it down, however, might open them up to suspicion.

Q: "There's no way the government could possibly guard the entire Ice Wall! It would take too many men! Millions of men!"

A: Not really. You could do it with a few hundred men and some basic equipment. But even so there's no reason to assume the Ice Wall is guarded; the harsh conditions of the region make it very difficult to reach anyway.

Q: "Why is NASA's space shuttle runway curved?"

A: It was specially constructed by NASA to be so. After all, NASA is at the heart of the conspiracy.