Well, Cygan was wondering why there wasn't one, so I made it. I guess we can talk about queer stuff. :3
(*LGBTQ+ Solidarity huggles*)
Oh, and if you're wondering, non-queer folks are welcome too.
Edited by GastonRabbit on Dec 1st 2023 at 12:49:01 PM
So, if you measure yourself, and you measure your shadow, you can learn the "shadow-self" ratio of yourself at a given time. If you measure the shadow of a building, tree, etc, at that time, you can derive the height of the building, tree, or whatever.
By looking at what height in the sky the sun is at at noon, you can tell what latitude you are at. By taking three cities in a straight line on approximately the same latitude, you can wait until the sun is directly above a well in the middle city, casting no shadows in the well. At that time, you get your friends to measure shadows in the other two cities.
Knowing your "shadow-self" ratios for given times, you can calculate the difference in time between the three cities (time zones!). Knowing that one full circumference of the earth is twenty-four hours, and knowing the distance between the cities, you can calculate the circumference of the earth!
And, with pi, you can calculate the radius of the earth.
Now, you wait for a perfect total solar eclipse, and on that day, you use your shadow-self-time ratios to figure out the time of the eclipse in several places. Also, using shadow-ratios, you figure out the height of the moon. With measurements from several places, you figure out the radius and circumference of the shadow of the moon on the earth.
The closer something is to the source of light, and the bigger it is the greater the shadow. Knowing the height of the moon and the measurements of the circle of the moon's shadow, you can figure out how big it must be to make that big of a shadow when it is your known height from the Earth's surface. You can figure out the circumference and radius of the Moon. Now you know the height, circumference, and radius of the moon; in addition to the circumference and radius of the earth. With the height of the moon, you can figure out the circumference of the moon's orbit around the earth.
Now, since the moon essentially completely blocks out the sun, except a corona of light, you know that the moon and sun have a volume-distance ratio. If the sun is has twice the radius of the moon, the sun must be twice as far away as the moon. Thirty times as big, thirty times as far away.
Know that you know the the moon's height, and the radius of the earth; you can find the distance from the moon to the center of the earth. Knowing the circumference of the moon's orbit from earlier, with Kepler's third law, you can derive the mass of the earth.
Now, you know the moon's volume and distance. The ratio of the Sun's volume to the moon's volume = 1; and the ratio of the sun's distance to the earth to the moon's distance equals 1.
By measuring the lengths of shadows at different places on the same latitude at regular intervals apart, you can derive the distance from the earth to the sun.
With that puzzle piece, you can use the Sun-moon ratio to derive the volume of the sun, and pi to derive the circumference of the Earth's orbit. Knowing that the earth makes one orbit a year, and knowing how long an orbit it, you can, by Kepler's third law, derive the mass of the sun.
By measuring shadows and keeping track of time, you can discover the mass, radius, and orbital circumference of the Earth, you can derive the mass, distance, and volume of the sun, and you can calculate the volume and distance of the moon.
Physics: Awesome.
If you want any of my avatars, just Pm me I'd truly appreciate any avatar of a reptile sleeping in a Nice Hat Read Elmer Kelton books—reads past argument—
You know, both sides had a point...:|
@X: If you tihnk for a moment that bullying is done for the evulz, you are dead wrong. Even the worst of bullies have more complex issues than that, and it's ignorant to say it's just cause they're bad.
edited 15th Apr '13 12:45:05 PM by MrAHR
Read my stories!


Okay, fine, Kay-chan, I won't.
...How is the Kay-chan?
edited 15th Apr '13 11:50:20 AM by TheMike
In the backyard, buried deep underneath the tree There's a monster, takin' root in the property...