157. Gravity does not magically drag the atmosphere and has never been measured or calculated

"If “gravity” magically dragged the atmosphere along with the spinning ball Earth, that would mean the atmosphere near the equator would be spinning around at over 1000 mph, the atmosphere over the mid-latitudes would be spinning around 500 mph, and gradually slower down to the poles where the atmosphere would be unaffected at 0 mph. In reality, however, the atmosphere at every point on Earth is equally unaffected by this alleged force, as it has never been measured or calculated and proven non-existent by the ability of airplanes to fly unabated in any direction without experiencing any such atmospheric changes."

Dubay doesn’t understand gravity, friction or relative motion

Just because Dubay does not understand gravity does not make it magic.  Gravity keeps the atmosphere from dissipating into space and from spinning off into space because of the rotation.  I.e. it counteracts the centrifugal force.   The atmosphere is rotated by friction with the ground and viscosity in the air, viscosity being friction between the air molecules.

If the Earth was still and had just started rotating friction would take a long time to accelerate the atmosphere up to speed, but the Earth has been rotating for a long long time (since its formation) so the atmosphere as a whole will obviously be rotating with the Earth.

To address the specific points in this “proof”.

Earth and the atmosphere rotate at different speeds at different latitudes

Yes, the Earth is a sphere so obviously that is the case.  The greater diameter at the Equator means that the surface is rotating at a faster speed than other latitudes.  So what?  Dubay does not say why that is a problem.

However, his diagram suggests that it might be a problem for airplanes travelling north/south.  Perhaps Dubay believes that there are discrete speed bands in the atmosphere that planes must jump across.  But of course there are not, and airplanes have no problem.

"The atmosphere at every point on Earth is equally unaffected by this alleged force (Gravity)"

Another unsubstantiated statement by Dubay that does not prove anything.

"... [Gravity] has never been measured or calculated ..."

P lease!  Two things science does plenty of is measuring and calculating.   Dubay may disagree with science's conclusions but to maintain that science just makes things up without measuring and making calculations is stretching it even for him.  However I guess his personal experience is that people just make things up all the time without any evidence, and the belief in something constitutes a proof, so he might actually believe that others are as guilty of that as himself.

"[Gravity is] proven non-existent by the ability of airplanes to fly unabated in any direction ..."

Again, Dubay shows he is an idiot by not being able to understand the simple notion of relative notion.  I know my kids mastered this at a young age, so it is a puzzle that Dubay can’t.

For those that may be confused along with Dubay I will explain.

Imagine the wind blowing at 100 mph on a stationary surface.   For a person standing on that stationary surface the air molecules will be rushing past their head at 100 mph, and he/she would experience a 100 mph wind.

Now imagine that the person gets in a fast car and drives in the same direction as the wind is blowing and accelerates to 100 mph.   At this point the person is travelling at 100 mph and so are the air molecules.  The person is keeping pace with the air molecules.  That means that the air molecules next to the person's head stay there, and do not rush past.  The person in the car will experience this as no wind at all because relative to the person in the car the air molecules are completely still.

At the equator, the earth is travelling at 1000 mph.  A plane is sitting still on the runway at the equator is also travelling at 1000 mph.  The atmosphere at the Equator is also travelling at 1000 mph.  Just like the car example, the airplane will be experiencing no wind.

We can also say that at the Equator the speed of the plane and the atmosphere relative to the Earth is zero mph.

The same applies when the plane takes off.   If it accelerates to 400mph in the direction that the Earth is rotating it is travelling at 1400mph but at 400mph relative to the Earth.  If it flies in the opposite direction, it is travelling at 600mph but still at 400mph relative to the Earth.  Since the atmosphere is moving with the Earth, the wind that the airplane experiences will be 400mph winds in either direction.  The speed of the Earth’s rotation can be ignored because the plane is travelling relative to the Earth.

Of course the atmosphere is not uniform.  The atmosphere as a whole rotates with the Earth, but there are local weather patterns.  We experience these as winds, but it is important to understand that these winds are also relative to the rotation of the Earth.

The following video explains Atmosphere / Gravity

The following video explains relative motion

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