Is Africa the correct size on our globes?
Are we changing our maps?
Why are you hearing about a “new world map”?
Globes have accurate proportions because they are three-dimensional (3d) models that match the true round, spherical shape of the Earth.
So why are you hearing about a “new world map”?
The news is about FLAT MAPS, 2d projections.
You cannot stretch a round object (a 3d world globe) on to a flat piece of paper without tearing, stretching, or shrinking some parts.
Flat maps use tricks called “projections” that force a sphere onto a 2D surface, which messes up either the size, shape, distance, or direction of landmasses.
Common flat maps (like the Mercator projection) make areas near the top and bottom of the world—such as Greenland—look huge, while places near the middle look smaller than they really are.
While maps face these projection dilemmas, a world globe like the ones we make – share the exact same 3D geometry as the planet it represents (Earth!)
Distances, directions, shapes, and land sizes all keep a uniform ratio to the real world.
We work in gores.
Gores are the long, curved, pointed strips of paper (resembling an orange slice or surfboard) that you see in our studio. Each “slice” contains a section of the world map.
By slicing a global map into multiple vertical segments (gores) running from pole to pole along lines of longitude, each individual strip can lie flat on a table yet fit seamlessly onto a round surface
No projection is needed because a globe does not need to be flattened, it avoids the mathematical distortion that ruins the proportions of flat world maps.
Now you still want to find something to argue so you say but Earth is not even round, it is an oblate spheroid, a three-dimensional shape like a sphere that is squashed at the poles and wide at the equator.
However we are making world globes at a smaller scale than our actual Earth. If the Earth were shrunken down to a globe with an equatorial diameter of 50cm (a medium sized globe), it would be extremely round and smoother than a standard bowling ball. The distortion would be invisible to the naked eye.
What do you want to explore next?
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Bellerby & Co Globemakers ~ London, England.
Traditional Globemakers
Gore photo via Jade Fenster and Jon Cardwell | Bellerby & Co Globemakers
No use externally without permisson.
