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WTF had to resort to 100+ year-old drivel from the lunatic Rowbotham to answer a question he couldn't answer himself.
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Then when I pointed out his errors he disappeared. Now he hasn't been back for two months.
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Speaking of theodolites, I did some checking online and found you can buy new ones starting at $900, up to $5,000.
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HOWEVER you can right now go on eBay and buy-it-now a very good quality American (or European) theoldolite for $100.
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Of course some on eBay are closer to $1,000, and all in between.
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But if you think renting one instead will save you money, they cost at least $30 a day or $125 a week (better ones are more).
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So if you're going to need one for a week, you ought to consider eBay from the start.
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There is a simple exercise you can do with theodolites that proves the curvature of the earth.
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Of course you have to do some traveling and the whole thing takes a lot of time.
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But if you have two theodolites with tripods, and two operators, this is very simple.
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Go anywhere on the globe and set up the two theodolites in a line of sight with each other 1 mile apart.
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If the earth were "flat" then the two theodolites would always be able to sight each other at any distance.
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Theodolite A would see theodolite B in a level line of sight, while B sees A in a level line, too.
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But they don't.
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Theodolite B will be 8" lower than the level line as seen from A, and theodolite A will appear 8" below the level line from B.
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Sound familiar? 8 inches drop in one mile?
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But theodolites are capable of turning and measuring vertical angles too.
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Therefore, use each A and B to measure how far it needs to turn down to the center of the other instrument.
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You might have to make a target out of a 2 foot square piece of white board with a fat horizontal line in the middle.
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A straight piece of black electrical tape 3/4" wide might be about right, or paint a black line that wide.
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Theodolite A will have to turn let's say 0 degrees, 0 minutes, 0.4 second downward to find the objective lens of theodolite B.
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Curiously, then theodolite B will have to turn down guess how much?
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If your guess was 0 deg. 0 min, 0.4 sec., you would be correct, and that will be the case everywhere you go on planet earth.
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By using two instruments you effectively double check your results every time you take shots.
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When they have a range of only 300 feet, that's as far as you can be separated and still be assured of accuracy.
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But the manufacturers build in a factor of safety for liability concerns.
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The more expensive units give specs for 3500 meters (1,066 ft.).
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So you can actually use these instruments for a 5,280 ft. range and still get very good accuracy, within about an inch.
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One inch is a lot less than 8 inches.
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In any case, you are pushing the instrument beyond its design limits.
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If you want to check for longer distances to get more curvature drop, standard theodolites are not powerful enough.
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Doing this exercise teaches you just how huge the earth is and how subtle its curvature appears without instruments.
Topic: Bible Depicts a Flat and Stationary Earth (Read 6944 times)