Original article (in Albanian) was published on 03/10/2024; Author: Pustina Patris
Claim: This experiment with the coin on the table demonstrates that the Earth is flat
Verdict: False
A video is circulating on social media that compares the sun’s movement to a 100 LEK coin on a flat table, claiming it serves as proof that the Earth is flat.
In the video, a person puts a coin on a table and then takes it away. The coin disappears, and the video suggests this is how sunset happens on a flat Earth.
In fact, the camera is set just below the edge of the table. When the coin is removed, it becomes hidden behind the table’s edge, as demonstrated in the diagram below.
In reality, the sun is seen above us and does not contact the Earth’s surface. It has a constant apparent size throughout the day. This so-called ‘experiment’ can only replicate one aspect of sunset: the sun appears to dip below the horizon. However, it does not explain all other observations.
If the camera were positioned at the same height as the table’s surface, the coin in the video would not disappear below the horizon at any point, as illustrated here by science writer Mick West.
It’s important to note that the sun indeed appears above the Earth. If it were to follow the path of the coin, moving away from the camera, it would decrease in size and get closer to the horizon, but it would never actually touch it.
