10 popular scientific errors, in that it's time to stop believing
Forming / / December 19, 2019
Myth: The sun is yellow
Almost any person on the question of color Sun. confidently answer that it is yellow. But in fact this is not true. The sun just seems yellow because its light passing through the atmosphere of our planet. And so it is white.
Myth: Sahara - the largest desert
We used to think that the desert - it's sure a lot of sand and is very hot. But in fact, the desert can be referred to any area, characterized by a flat surface, sparseness or absence of specific flora and fauna (1). C this point of view the biggest desert is not the Sahara, and the endless ice of Antarctica space (2).
Myth: Mobile Communications works with the help of satellites
This myth arose because of constantly appearing in media reports about the launch of the next "communications satellite". However, the satellites do not have nothing to do with mobile. In fact, the signal transmitted from your smartphone on a chain from one base station to another. Even when you are communicating with another continent, these are almost always transmitted through submarine cables and not through space.
Myth: The Great Wall of China - the only man-made object visible from space
This myth was born in the XVIII century (1) And was so tenacious that voiced some teachers of geography and history to this day. However, today it is to prove that the Great Wall can not be seen with any orbit, even more so with the moon without the use of special optical instruments. This is due to the fact that the wall is not so wide (maximum 9.1 meters) and about the same color as the ground on which it is located.
Myth: Lightning never strikes in the same place
Beats. Especially if this place is located high above the ground. For example, in a New York skyscraper Empire State Building (Empire State Building) lightning strikes more than 100 times each year.
Myth: The Earth is a sphere
In fact, the Earth is not a perfect sphere. Due to the diurnal rotation is slightly flattened at the poles. Also, please note that the different heights of the continents, and that distort the shape of the surface deformation tidal (1). Interestingly, there are several ways to calculate the shape of the earth, each of which served as the basis for its coordinate system. In Russia, used an original system called "Earth 1990 Parameters of the Year" (2).
Myth: Mount Everest - the highest mountain on Earth
It's not that myth, but not entirely accurate information. The fact that Everest really is the highest mountain, counting from the sea level. But if lead counting from the bottom, it would be the highest mountain Mauna Kea (10,203 meters), most of which is hidden under water (1). And if you count from the center of the Earth, there will be another "highest mountain" - Chimborazo (2).
Myth: water conducts electricity
Everyone knows that water and electrical devices are not compatible. However, the water itself is an insulator (1). Simply it is almost always there are those or other impurities, which allow water to conduct electricity.
Myth: weightlessness - is the lack of gravity
We have all seen the reports from the International Space Station where astronauts are in a state of weightlessness. Many people think that this phenomenon occurs because, ISS It is located at a great distance from Earth, and the force of attraction does not work there. In fact, at an altitude of 350 kilometers, where the station is located, the gravitational acceleration has a value of 8.8 m / s², which is only 10% less than at the earth's surface. Weightlessness here arises only because of the constant movement of the ISS circular orbit, leaving the astronauts as if all the time "falling forward" at a speed of 7.9 km / s (1).
Myth: In the past, people thought that the earth was flat
It is commonly thought that ancient civilizations believed in the legend of a flat Earth, resting on three elephants, which stand on a turtle. And only thanks to the scientists of the Renaissance and the great geographical discoveries, the world finally ascertained its actual form. However, this view is far from the truth. Already in 330 BC. e. Aristotle brought evidence sphericity of the Earth, and in the I century AD, Pliny the Elder wrote about the spherical Earth as an established fact (1).
However, even today there are people who believe that the earth is flat, and all governments of the world have entered into a conspiracy to hide it (2).
Do you know similar examples of myths that still continue to trust people?