/sci/ - Science & Math

If the Earth is flat, why is the shadow length I measured at a latitude of 40 degrees 23 arcminutes at 12:03 PM on 12/21/2018 not concordant with the flat earth model? I used a piece of plywood 22 11/16 inches long. By measuring the length of a shadow cast by a stick, we can take the arctangent of the length of the stick divided by the length of the shadow to determine the sun's elevation angle above the horizon. This formula can also be used to determine the predicted shadow length for each model by dividing the length of the stick by the tangent of the model's predicted angular elevation. The solar elevation angle on a flat earth can be found by dividing the height of the sun in the flat earth model by the horizontal distance to it and taking the arctangent of the result. I used a value of 3000 miles (4828.032 km) from Samuel Birley Rowbotham (1816-1884), a prominent flat earther, for the height of the sun above a flat earth. I have factored in the declination of the sun and the obliquity of the ecliptic to ensure the most accurate prediction for the solar elevation angle. The flat earth model predicts an angle of 34.242 degrees and a shadow length of 33.5 inches. I measured a shadow length of 46 inches. Ergo, the flat earth model error relative to measured shadow length is -23.6% (−8.081 degrees). How does the flat earth model explain the deviation of the solar elevation angle from its predictions? In short, flerfs have no explanation for the results of this experiment. Flat earth theory is crap. θsfis the flat earth prediction in the following desmos link.https://www.desmos.com/calculator/xdzu24biod