“Spheric” — Spherical Computing

In the Spirit of the Gracious and Compassionate
Creator of the Heavens and the Earth

“spheric”
Spherical Computing

A proposal by
Lester A. Knibbs

There are two main reasons for a computer screen in the shape of a sphere – and many potential applications. The two main reasons are: (1) variable display; and (2) accurate representation.

Variable Display

The world is constantly changing. The Soviet Union no longer exists, and neither does Yugoslavia. Eritrea and South Sudan have been carved out of Ethiopia and Sudan, respectively. Between today and tomorrow, the political map may change – but you own a map (whether a flat map or a globe) that remains as it was.

Can your map (or globe) show you the political world as it was in 1914 or 1776 or 1491 or 711 or 25 centuries ago?

Can your map (or globe) show you the position of the continents 350 million years ago? Can your map (or globe) demonstrate the movement of the continents over hundreds of millions of years?

Can your map (or globe) show you the progress and retreat of the glaciers during this past glacial age? Can it show you the changes in climate – past, present, and projected into the future?

Can your map (or globe) show you the changing weather patterns? The progress and development of a tropical storm or hurricane?

Can your map (or globe) demonstrate for you the epic events – on a global scale – of the Second World War? The advance and retreat of the Nazi forces in the Soviet Union, the Japanese onslaught into China and Southeast Asia, the spectacular Nazi blitzkrieg that knocked France out of the war in six weeks, the progress of American island-hopping across the Pacific in its defeat of Imperial Japan, and the awesome Normandy invasion that began the defeat of Nazi forces in Western Europe – all in proportional chronological and geographic representation?

Can your globe show you Mercury, Venus, Earth’s moon, Mars, Jupiter and any of Jupiter’s moons (including the dynamic volcanism of Io), Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, or any of the myriad dwarf planets of our solar system?

Demonstrate the dynamic surface of the sun? Project the possible surface dynamics of other stars and planets in the cosmos?

Imagine war games played on a computerized globe.

Visualize a wide variety of games – both realistic and imaginative – designed specifically for a computerized globe.

Accurate Representation

The spherical surface of the Earth – or of any planet – can never be accurately represented on a flat surface or computer screen.

A virtual globe depicted on a flat computer screen is just that – a virtual globe. It is the illusion of a globe. An actual globe – in addition to being an accurate representation (which a virtual globe is not) – allows the viewers to move around the object, or, because it is computerized, have the object present a rotating surface to the viewers.

Usefulness

A computerized sphere would be useful for classrooms and museums. It would be useful for astronomers and for space exploration. It would be useful for military study and planning. It would be useful for weather prediction. In addition, it could be used for an entirely new world of games – from variants of Tetris and Minesweeper, to battleplans on alien planets. And more.

BUT – it is not likely to be a consumer product; it is mainly for institutions.

Who Might Be Interested (among others)

United States Department of Defense

NASA

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Apple Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago)

American Museum of (Natural History New York City)

Smithsonian Institution

National Geographic Society

Harvard University John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences