List Members,
I've been tweaking the article Seven Days North of Tibet, and doing some
re-writing. The following is the gist of what I have come up with:
In the article Seven Days North of Tibet, the explorer Nansen and crew
encountered anomalies in terms of navigation practically throughout their
three year journey. The anamolies seem to be in relation to the compass and
curvature of the Earth as they approached the rim of the opening to the
hollow portion. This is obvious from a reading of Nansen's book Farthest
North. Here are some examples:
On page 126 of Nansen's book, disappointment is described as the navigator
all of the sudden determines the ship's position to be various degrees South
of where they had calculated. This was around 139* longitude East, 79*
latitude North. Now, it is not reasonable to assume that an error had
existed all this time, which had not been caught until this moment: Could it
be that the curvature of the polar opening was playing havoc with the
indications derived from the angle of their sextant readings? This would be
the case if the current had carried them a bit down the inside of the
funnel-like opening, then back up towards the rim of the funnel.
Page 216: " To give the course of the drift [ longitude ] is a difficult
task in these latitudes, as there is a perceptible deviation of the compass
with every degree of longitude as one passes East or West."
In other words, Nansen's compass wouldn't tell him what the longitude was
even though he was several hundred miles away from the Magnetic North Pole!
This is because the magnetic lines of force enter all along the inner rim of
the doughnut-shaped opening; such that as one passes along the rim, the
compass goes helter-skelter, Eastwards and Westwards. Why?
The magnetic North Pole is simply a point where the magnetism is stronger,
but all along the opening, there is a solid curtain of magnetic " points "
because the magnetic field of the Earth runs along the inner rim of the
polar opening!
Page 288: [ April 6th ] " It became more and more of a riddle to me that we
did not make greater progress Northward. I kept on calculating and adding up
our marches later on, but always with the same result ... we must be far
above the 86th parallel. It was becoming only too clear to me that the ice
was moving southward." [ Confusion because of curvature changes? ]
Page 291: [ April 14th ] " I find that we should yesterday have come farther
South than 86* 53 North; ...I cannot explain it in any other manner than by
the surmise that we have been drifting radiply northward, which is very good
for the Fram, but less so for us."
Between the 6th and the 14th, Nansen had turned back. Here we find that
within the space of a few days, he blames his navegational anomalies on the
ice drifting Southward then Northward. More likely, he was very close to the
doughnut-like funnel opening into the hollow portion, and the curvature
changes were confusing him, indicating exagerrated lateral movements.
Lt. Greely ( Later General ) also indicated curvature anomalies, as little
as a couple hundred miles away, maybe less, and opposite from Nansen; Nansen
was now on the Russian side above Franz Joseph Land, and Greely was on the
Greenland/Canada side. Specifically, Lt. Greely noticed a forshortening of
the horizon, such that spurs of land at the horizon seemed too high and cut
off the view beyond. Keep in mind that a " spur " is a ridge or line of
elevation, fingering out from a mountain. This blocking-of-the-view would
also be the case were foreshortening of the horizon being experienced, i.e.,
not being able to see beyond a relatively short distance due to an
exagerrated bulging and pinching of the horizon. At this point, Greely was
near the tip of Greenland, near the Pole ( a few hundred miles ) and near
the opening:
From The Hollow Earth, page 104:
" ' The deep interest with which we had hitherto persued our journey was now
greatly intensified. The eye of civilised man had never seen, or his feet
trodden, the ground over which we were traveling. A strong, ernest desire to
press forward at our best speed seized us all. As we neared each projecting
spur of the land ahead, our eagerness to see what was beyond became so
intense at times as to be painful. Each point we reached brought a new
landscape in sight, and always in advance was a point which cut off a
portion of the horizon and caused a certain disappointment.
If Greely and his companions were entering into the interior of the Earth,
they would certainly find that the Earth has a greater curve near the poles
than at any other place; ..."
One conclusion that we can draw is that curvature certainly seems to have a
role in any travel undertaken in the area.
By " opening," we just mean that the curvature going into the hole
forshortens gradually such that, after a few hundred miles, one's feet are
pointing up towards Helsinki. The hole could be hundreds of miles across
with clouds emanating from the warmer interior, such that one wouldn't see
the other side. Or it could be narrower than that.