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Fact or Fake? – Flat Earth Ep.3 – Bedford Level Experiment by Wallace
Senin, 27 Jul 2020 13:20:15
Samuel B. Rowbotham conducted the Bedford Level Experiment which prove the flatness of the earth (read the full article here). But, it was Alfred Russel Wallace who come to the conclusion that the Earth is actually spherical. His new Bedford Level Experiment is the experiment with the same goal, but with different method. Wallace believed that Samuel B. Rowbotham’s observation was as it was because of atmospheric refraction. So, indeed, Mr. Wallace believed that the EARTH IS SPHERICAL. He wanted to prove it.
Wallace’s Observation
So, to minimize the effect of atmospheric refraction, Alfred Russel Wallace fixed the black band of the Bedford canal with a pole and two disks (look at the feature image above). The top disk is at the same level as the canal, and the bottom disk is right below the top disk. We also knew that the distance from the telescope to the canal is 6 miles.
In this experiment, Wallace put the pole right in between the canal and the telescope. If the earth is flat, the top disk will be seen at the same height as the top of the canal. But, if the earth is curved, the top disk will be slightly above the top of the canal.
His observation results was proven to be different than Rowbotham’s observation. He saw that the disks were above the canal itself. If the earth is flat, the top disk would be at the same height as the canal. But, that’s not the case (look at the featured image).
With that, the naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace proved that the Earth is spherical.
Conclusions
The Bedford Level Experiments were quite interesting series of experiments which has proven that the earth is actually spherical. Rowbotham’s experiment proved that the earth is flat through observation of far away boat, but then Wallace fix the experiment by reducing the atmospheric refraction. I personally believe that Wallace’s idea of reducing the atmospheric reaction came from his believe that the earth is spherical. This idea has opened the eyes of many people, along with his latest Bedford experiment, that the earth is actually spherical.