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« on: January 21, 2021, 02:57:10 PM »
Flat Earthers and Round Earthers seem to disagree on a few points. One of these is gravity, which is essential for Round Earth Theory and anethema to Flat Earth Theory... or at least the current one. Luckily, there is quite a simple way to measure gravity: The Cavendish Experiment. There are a few videos of Cavendish experiments available, mostly performed by teachers in less than perfect environments. So, rather than performing a simple experiment and then dissolving into disagreement over fine points, let's come to a consensus on how to perform a controlled Cavendish experiment and then execute that plan. Let's please keep this on topic and civil: this is an investigation, not a debate. I'll list all of the things I can think of to control:
Air currents: With the weak forces experienced by the objects in a Cavendish experiment, any outside perturbation is enough to disturb a system. Thus, it is best to control air currents, either by performing the experiment in a vacuum, or if that proves impractical, testing a control with objects of the same shape but a lower mass.
Magnetism: The test needs to be performed with weights which do not experience magnetism, and for that matter won't exude a static charge either.
Place of rest needs to be found.: The original Cavendish experiment was performed not to prove the existence of gravity, although gravity is needed for it to work. Rather, it was performed to find the gravitational constant, which it did so with remarkable accuracy. It did this by suspending the weights from a long wire, and allowing them to rotate. This of course twisted the wire, which introduced a torsion force into the system. By finding how far the weights are from the height of equilibrium when they come to rest, a gravitational force can be found. The best way in my mind to perform this would be to place a digital dial gauge under the beam and allowing the beam to spin back and forth without external weights. The lowest height it reaches should be the place of rest.
With all these in mind, I'll do the first procedure writeup, which will doubtless be modified.
1. Suspend a wire (exact length, gauge, and material TBD) from the ceiling (Could be performed in a large empty space, such as an empty gymnasium to minimize outside gravitational influences, or could be performed in a vacuum chamber if it's practical.
2. On the end of the wire, attach a beam (properties TBD) and to either side attach a weight of mass (TBD). Allow the system to rest for one hour.
3. Place a digital dial gauge under the beam so that it is measuring the height of the beam, and rotate the beam 90 degrees without allowing the wire to swing. Release and plot the height over the next (length of time TBD).
4. With the equilibrium height established, allow the system to come to rest at equilibrium. Place two empty containers of volume (TBD) (TBD m/cm) away, on scales of which the mass is already known. Wait one hour and measure the change in height of the beam.
5. Fill the containers with (material of extremely high density: lead, stone, etc.), so that the mass of each container is (TBD). Wait until the system reaches equilibrium and measure the height.
6. Remove the containers and allow the system to return to equilibrium.
If the height with the high mass containers is different to the equilibrium height without containers, then gravity exists.
Let's do this.