10 popular scientific misconceptions you should stop believing in

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Despite all the successes of modern science, many ridiculous and ridiculous myths continue to live around us. In this article, we will tell you about some of them.

Myth: The sun is yellow

Almost any person, when asked about the color of the Sun, will confidently answer that it is yellow. But in reality this is not entirely true. The sun only appears to us yellow because of the passage of its light through the atmosphere of our planet. And so it is white.

Myth: Sahara is the largest desert

We used to think that the desert is necessarily a lot of sand and very hot. But in fact, any area characterized by a flat surface, sparseness or lack of flora and specific fauna can be called a desert (). From this point of view, the largest desert is not the Sahara at all, but the endless ice expanses of Antarctica ().

Myth: mobile communications work with satellites

This myth has arisen thanks to the reports constantly appearing in the media about the launch of the next "communications satellite". However, these satellites have nothing to do with cellular communications. In fact, the signal from your smartphone is transmitted along a chain from one base station to another. Even when you are connecting to another continent, data is almost always transmitted over submarine cables rather than space.

Myth: The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space

This myth was born in the 18th century () and turned out to be so tenacious that it is voiced by some teachers of geography and history to this day. However, today it has already been proved for sure that the Great Wall of China cannot be seen either from orbit, let alone from the Moon, without the use of special optical instruments. This is because the wall is not that wide (maximum 9.1 meters) and is about the same color as the ground on which it is located.

Myth: lightning never strikes the same place

Beats. Especially if this place is located high above the ground. For example, New York's Empire State Building is struck by lightning more than 100 times every year.

Myth: The earth is a ball

In fact, the Earth is not a perfect ball. Due to the diurnal rotation, it is slightly flattened from the poles. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the heights of the continents are different, as well as the fact that the shape of the surface is distorted by tidal deformations (). Interestingly, there are several ways to calculate the shape of the Earth, each of which served as the basis for its own coordinate system. In Russia, an original system called "Earth Parameters 1990" () is used.

Myth: Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth

This is not exactly a myth, but not entirely accurate information. The fact is that Everest is indeed the highest mountain, if you count from sea level. But if we count from the foot, then the highest mountain will be Mauna Kea (10 203 m), most of which is hidden under water (). And if you count from the center of the Earth, then there will be another "highest mountain" - Chimborazo ().

Myth: water conducts electricity

Everyone knows that electrical appliances and water are incompatible. However, water itself is an insulator (). It's just that it almost always contains certain impurities that allow water to conduct electricity.

Myth: weightlessness is the absence of gravity

We have all seen reports from the International Space Station, where astronauts are in a state of zero gravity. Many people think that this phenomenon arises because it is located at a great distance from the Earth and the force of gravity does not work there. In fact, at an altitude of 350 kilometers, where the station is located, the acceleration of gravity has a value of 8, 8 m / s², which is only 10% less than on the surface of the Earth. Zero gravity here arises only due to the constant movement of the ISS in a circular orbit, as a result of which the cosmonauts seem to “fall forward” all the time at a speed of 7, 9 km / s ().

Myth: In the past, people thought the earth was flat

It is generally accepted that ancient civilizations believed in the legends of a flat earth resting on three elephants that stand on a turtle. And only thanks to the scientists of the Renaissance and the great geographical discoveries, the world was finally convinced of its real form. However, this opinion is far from the truth. Already in 330 BC. NS. Aristotle gave evidence of the sphericity of the Earth, and in the 1st century AD Pliny the Elder wrote about the spherical Earth as a generally accepted fact ().

However, even in our time there are people who believe that the Earth is flat, and all governments have entered into a world conspiracy to hide it ().