# to scale globe **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973 "2010-11-17T14:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/1 "2010-11-17T14:40:34Z")
I’ve seen (and felt) those textured globes, in which features like the Himalayas can be felt. But I know the elevation and texture are not to scale… if a globe were made with near-perfect to-scale representation of surface features (mountains), would those features be significant enough to be felt by one’s fingers? Does such a globe exist that can be purchased? ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/2 "2010-11-17T14:46:31Z")
No, not unless the globe was of sufficient diameter. My guesstimate is about ten miles or so to be able to feel surface features with your finger. Someone will be around soon to demonstrate my errors with proper math. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/3 "2010-11-17T14:54:13Z")
Looks like one of the factoids I learned in Grade 8 actually is true. [The earth is smoother than a billiard ball](http://www.universetoday.com/25893/is-the-earth-round/) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/4 "2010-11-17T14:59:59Z")
So the question now would be exactly how large would the globe have to be in order for to-scale topographical features to be felt? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/5 "2010-11-17T15:34:28Z")
> [@D18](#): > > Looks like one of the factoids I learned in Grade 8 actually is true. [The earth is smoother than a billiard ball](http://www.universetoday.com/25893/is-the-earth-round/) And Kansas is flatter than a pancake. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/6 "2010-11-17T15:49:09Z")
In my calculations, Mount Everest could easily be felt if the globe were 1 meter in diameter. Everest = 9 Km high Earth = 12756 Km in diameter 9/12756 = .0007 .0007 \* 1 m = .7 mm .7mm is about the thickness of a mechanical pencil lead. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/7 "2010-11-17T15:59:23Z")
Back-of-the-envelope calculations - the most prominent burs or gouges on the surface are a matter of a few miles. Say 5. The Earth is a hair under 8000 miles in diameter, so say you might get local imperfections of 5/8000 or so. For a 1 foot in diameter globe, that’s 0.0075 inch. A large dust particle (100 microns) landing on your globe is the size of a major mountain to scale. Note that this a slightly different issue than how close to perfectly spherical it is, as in the provided link. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/8 "2010-11-17T16:04:16Z")
The way I like to understand the relief of the Earth is that Mount Everest is 8.8 kilometres tall and the Challenger Deep is 10.9 km deep, so the total range for Earth elevation is 19.7 km. The Island of Montreal is 50 km wide, so the total elevation variance of the world is only half the width of my city. (It doesn’t span the whole island.) The city, of course, is far smaller than the dot that represents it on most globes would suggest. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/9 "2010-11-17T16:11:57Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > In my calculations, Mount Everest could easily be felt if the globe were 1 meter in diameter. > > Everest = 9 Km high > Earth = 12756 Km in diameter > 9/12756 = .0007 > > .0007 \* 1 m = .7 mm > .7mm is about the thickness of a mechanical pencil lead. Note that Everest starts at a base elevation already considerably above sea level. We have to take this sort of thing into consideration when figuring how much the feature sticks up over the surrounding area. That’s why I gave up and simply said “5 miles or so”, which is probably a bit much. At any rate, I think a meter or two is probably ball park for being able to feel texture to the surface. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/10 "2010-11-17T18:19:01Z")
As i recall, there is a to-scale globe at the Ontario Science Center. It’s possible to feel the mountain ranges and ocean trenches. The globe was maybe 2” in diameter. Human touch is much more sensitive than one might think - it’s very easy to tell the difference between one and two sheets of paper, and they are a few thousandths of an inch thick. Also, it’s really easy to feel surface roughness in the micron range. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/11 "2010-11-17T19:40:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > … The globe was maybe 2” in diameter… That’s a pretty small globe. Might as well be a billiard ball. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/12 "2010-11-17T19:46:16Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > That’s a pretty small globe. Might as well be a billiard ball. > 😉 You should see my [Stonehenge](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlf5ucFanpY) model! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-scale-globe/560973/13 "2010-11-17T21:25:15Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > You should see my [Stonehenge](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xlf5ucFanpY) model! I can’t do YouTube at work. For some reason though, I’m pretty confident I know what the clip is!