Light doesn’t bend, calm water is flat. CHALLENGE at a lake put a stable laser dot (firmly attached to the shore) SHOOTING onto a poster attached to a boat, k? The boat is on calm water, no waves (like early morning on a lake) If the earth is flat the laser dot will not rise above the point it was originally pointed at as the boat travels farther and farther away from the shore. If the laser rises then there is a curvature to the strait shot land/water between the boat and the laser.
Any thought on this experiment, pretty simple way to prove your theory on a lack of curvature over a large distance, hell you could sail that boat pretty far and still see a laser dot. And if the earth is flat then the laser dot will not rise above the level of where it was pointing originally.
What do you think? This would prove to me the earth is flat, as it is repeatable direct empirical evidence! What is whiny with this experiment, criticism is encouraged, please explain yourself.
Light bends all the time as it passes through air. That's why stars twinkle. That's why the road a mile ahead looks like water on a hot day.
So does that relate to a laser over a lake?
For your first example with star light diffracting. Big big big difference in scale when determining if atmospheric diffraction is interfering with results from this hypothetical experiment.
I have a green laser pointer that I can see the beam clearly with, like a light saber but it looks like it just is shooting on forever. It doesn’t seem to bend even when playing with it next to Lake Michigan, as I’ve done many times tagging kayakers and boats with Freind’s aboard. I’ve never seen my green laser pointer bend it’s direction. I’m not a expert who went to school for light physics.
I guess I don’t see how atmospheric diffraction is applicable on a small experimental scale, as it’s effect is a function of distance traveled and the only examples you offer are large scale star light diffraction. I’ve yet to see evidence that a concentrated laser beam will be diffracted to a detrimental degree at 300m. It certainly wouldn’t bend it up or down it would just be diffracted in all directions to the original vector of travel.
As for the water on pavement, this is a very different phenomenon known as a inferior mirage, the explanation of how this happens first was explained by French mathematician Pierre de Fermat, who stated that the reason the light travels along these funny lines is due to temperature being higher and air density being lower at the level of the road. Without much thought this is not applicable to proper experimental conditions such as on a calm cold night on a lake with no warm temperature gradient at the surface. You see how this mirage example and the star light diffraction example is not relatable to this experiment?
Yes but again does that relate to a laser shot over a lake? The fact that light can bend is true I did not state light CANT bend. But for this experiment one of the assumption along around 300m distance for this experiment is that LIGHT DOES NOT BEND. see the difference? For this experiment light does not bend (but yes ? light can bend your correct). I hope I explained this well enough.
If you can prove to me that the because light can bend under the Conditions during this experiment, giving no surface temperature gradient (at night) and around 300m that a laser would bend then sir or madam that would be very helpful. Personally my green laser pointer is pretty strait