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You are using binary thinking by assuming there are only two alternatives. Please see the graph above to see why the idea that the earth revolves around the sun is wrong just as it is wrong to say that the sun revolves around the earth or that the earth is flat. The earth doesn't revolve around the sun any more than it revolves around Mercury.
I guess the poll didn't account for pedants such as yourself. When only 74% understand that the setup is heliocentric, by definition the other 26% are morons. Period.
You are using binary thinking by assuming there are only two alternatives. Please see the graph above to see why the idea that the earth revolves around the sun is wrong just as it is wrong to say that the sun revolves around the earth or that the earth is flat. The earth doesn't revolve around the sun any more than it revolves around Mercury.
The sun and all of the planets in the solar system revolve around the barycenter, but the barycenter is so close to the sun, that for all practical purposes the planets revolve around the sun.
The barycenter moves due to the changes in position of the planets. Sometimes it is internal to the sun and sometimes external.
The animation shows how the sun revolves around the barycenter. Check on all the planets and move the speed of animation to about midway and you can see how the barycenter is sometimes even close to the center of the sun.
For the purposes of the poll, saying the earth revolves around the sun is close enough.
Incorrect. The Earth revolves around where the center of mass of the solar system was approximately 8 minutes prior.
It's still revolving around the center of mass, not the Sun or Mercury. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, there might be a 8 millisecond delay until the pain hits, but there is no question that the pain was caused by the hammer.
Looking at the actual question, I see that there were only two options:
a) Does the earth go around the sun, and
b) does the sun go around the earth.
A lot of people are dyslexic, and many others get questions wrong that they know because they are in too big a rush. I think that every one of us, back when we were in school, got easy questions wrong that we knew the answers to. Additionally, some people are jokers who like to screw with people by picking the obvious wrong answer. Given this, I think it is highly unlikely that 26% of people actually think the sun goes around the earth.
74% of Americans said that the earth goes around the sun, which is a lot better than Europeans who only responded as such by 66%. I HIGHLY doubt that 1 in 3 Europeans believe that the sun goes around the earth.
It is interesting that men tend to get more questions right than women (70% vs 60%), but this is because men are more likely to specialize in math and physics. Educational level is a big factor, but age is also a contributor because many of the questions are aimed at school age knowledge that people forget over time.
ETA: On second thought, maybe the numbers are correct. According to the document, the counties most likely to agree that "Modern science does more harm that good" are:
1) Norway (close to 70%)
2) Finland
3) Denmark
4) Canada
5) USA (about 60%)
It's still revolving around the center of mass, not the Sun or Mercury. If I hit my thumb with a hammer, there might be a 8 millisecond delay until the pain hits, but there is no question that the pain was caused by the hammer.
Looking at the actual question, I see that there were only two options:
a) Does the earth go around the sun, and
b) does the sun go around the earth.
A lot of people are dyslexic, and many others get questions wrong that they know because they are in too big a rush. I think that every one of us, back when we were in school, got easy questions wrong that we knew the answers to. Additionally, some people are jokers who like to screw with people by picking the obvious wrong answer. Given this, I think it is highly unlikely that 26% of people actually think the sun goes around the earth.
74% of Americans said that the earth goes around the sun, which is a lot better than Europeans who only responded as such by 66%. I HIGHLY doubt that 1 in 3 Europeans believe that the sun goes around the earth.
It is interesting that men tend to get more questions right than women (70% vs 60%), but this is because men are more likely to specialize in math and physics. Educational level is a big factor, but age is also a contributor because many of the questions are aimed at school age knowledge that people forget over time.
ETA: On second thought, maybe the numbers are correct. According to the document, the counties most likely to agree that "Modern science does more harm that good" are:
1) Norway (close to 70%)
2) Finland
3) Denmark
4) Canada
5) USA (about 60%)
Revolving around the center of mass is a given. That means though that earth in its path does revolve around the sun. Not in a perfect circle though. The same is true of the moon. It doesn't orbit around the exact center of the earth.
Revolving around the center of mass is a given. That means though that earth in its path does revolve around the sun. Not in a perfect circle though. The same is true of the moon. It doesn't orbit around the exact center of the earth.
When given the options of earth around sun or sun around earth, the obvious answer is earth around sun, but the question was proposed earlier in this thread: Does the earth revolve around the sun, to which I said, "no."
Any two bodies in space revolve about their common center of mass. In the case of the moon and earth, they both revolve around the same point, which lies well within the earth at all times. Because the earth is much larger than the moon, the earth only wobbles a little bit around this same center of mass. The combined center of mass of the moon and earth in turn revolve around the center of the solar system. The center of mass of the solar system is sometimes within the Sun, but is often outside the Sun's dimensions.
When given the options of earth around sun or sun around earth, the obvious answer is earth around sun, but the question was proposed earlier in this thread: Does the earth revolve around the sun, to which I said, "no."
Any two bodies in space revolve about their common center of mass. In the case of the moon and earth, they both revolve around the same point, which lies well within the earth at all times. Because the earth is much larger than the moon, the earth only wobbles a little bit around this same center of mass. The combined center of mass of the moon and earth in turn revolve around the center of the solar system. The center of mass of the solar system is sometimes within the Sun, but is often outside the Sun's dimensions.
Nonetheless, the path of the earth isn't significantly altered re the sun.
Nonetheless, the path of the earth isn't significantly altered re the sun.
The sun is definitely the biggest player if that's what you mean. The path is altered by everything revolving around the axis. In the case of the moon and earth around each other, both the moon and earth alter the path. In the case of earth and Sun around solar system's center, the Sun, Jupiter, Mars, and your mom all alter the path to one degree or another.
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