Of course, Earth isn\u2019t entirely round. It\u2019s not a sphere, it\u2019s an oblate spheroid \u2013 a sphere that’s been flattened slightly at the top and bottom.<\/p>
Which, somewhat ironically, means the Earth kind of IS donut-shaped\u2026 if the donut in question is one of the round ones with a jam or custard filling.<\/p>
But when people talk about a donut-shaped Earth\u00a0\u2013 which they sometimes do, more on which in a minute \u2013 they\u2019re talking about ring donuts, which would technically be described as \u2018toroidal\u2019 in shape.<\/p>
And no, Earth isn\u2019t a toroid. See above.<\/p> It\u2019s still an interesting question, though, because it raises three further questions:<\/p> The answer to the first question, perhaps surprisingly, is “Yes, possibly, a donut-shaped planet might exist”.<\/p> We don\u2019t know of any toroidal planets, and there\u2019s nothing so far about any of the many exoplanets<\/a> that we\u2019ve discovered (but know little about) to indicate they might be such a shape.<\/p> But that doesn\u2019t mean a toroidal planet couldn\u2019t exist.<\/p> Various astronomers both amateur and professional have, in fact, spent a great deal of time and mental energy proving that such a planet is feasible, though it would need to be somewhat larger than Earth.<\/p> It wouldn\u2019t be a perfect ring with a perfectly circular cross-section, either.<\/p> Instead, it would need to be slightly egg-shaped in cross-section, thicker at the outer edges than it is towards the centre (the hole in the donut).<\/p> We won\u2019t delve deep into mathematical equations here, but if you\u2019d like to see some workings that led to these conclusions, try this article by Oxford professor and mathematical modelling expert Anders Sandberg<\/a>, or this one by an anonymous blogger<\/a>.<\/p> So if a toroidal planet can exist\u2026 what might life there be like? How would conditions on a donut-shaped Earth differ from those we experience in real life?<\/p> Such a planet would still have an equator and poles.<\/p> Actually, it would have an inner and outer equator \u2013 one on the inside of the ring, one on the outside \u2013 but just as on Earth, the equator would wrap right around the donut planet\u2019s \u2018waistband\u2019.<\/p> And the North and South Poles would still be at the top and bottom, respectively.<\/p> It\u2019s just that each pole would be a very narrow ring on the donut\u2019s uppermost and lowermost surfaces, as opposed to a specific point as it is on Earth.<\/p> Gravity<\/a> would work somewhat differently on a donut Earth, though.<\/p> On our regular, spherical Earth, gravity is the same wherever you go, whereas on a toroidal planet it would be stronger towards the poles and weaker towards the equator.<\/p> This could actually be an advantage: various industrial, mechanical or scientific processes could benefit greatly from having access to a lower-gravity environment.<\/p> You can see how it might be a problem for the organisers of the Olympics, though.<\/p> Imagine, for instance, trying to establish a meaningful high jump record when athletes at one Games were experiencing only (e.g.) 0.8975 times the gravity than athletes had to deal with at the last one!<\/p> Days would work differently, too. If you lived on the outside of the donut, things would be much as they are now, but if you lived towards the inside of the ring, you\u2019d often find yourself eclipsed by the other side.<\/p> Conversely, you\u2019d also often be lit up by sunlight reflecting off the other (illuminated) side, much as on Earth we\u2019re illuminated at night by sunlight bouncing off the Moon.<\/p> The only difference is that, for inner ring-dwellers on our putative donut Earth, this effect would be much greater, because the source of the illumination (the other side of the ring) would be both much larger and much closer than the Moon is to us.<\/p> Speaking of moons, a donut-shaped planet could still have one or more of them, though depending on the shape and size of the ring you might see some bizarre orbits \u2013 in some models, for instance, any moon would constantly bob up and down inside the central hole!<\/p> That\u2019s the not the only area where the precise physical characteristics of our hypothetical torus make a big difference, either. The picture can look very different depending on:<\/p> \u2022 the overall size\/mass of the donut<\/p> \u2022 the planet\u2019s degree of tilt (if any) relative to its orbit<\/p> \u2022 whether it\u2019s truly donut-like (a \u2018fat\u2019 ring with a small diameter and a small hole in the centre), more akin to a hula hoop (a \u2018skinny\u2019 ring with a large diameter and a much larger hole in the middle) or somewhere in-between.<\/p> To sum up: on a donut Earth, conditions would be different from those we experience on our regular Earth, but not so different \u2013 according to most astronomers that have dived into the question \u2013 to preclude the existence of life.<\/p> So that\u2019s our first two questions answered.<\/p> Yes, a toroidal planet could feasibly exist, and depending on its exact structure, life there could still be possible, and in some cases needn\u2019t look much different from life on Earth.<\/p> That just leaves the third question: why have people spent so much time discussing whether Earth might be donut-shaped, when it quite clearly isn\u2019t?<\/p> And the answer to that seems be that it all comes down, originally, to a hoax\/spoof post on the internet!<\/p> ![\"A](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/11\/donut-troidal-shape.jpg\")
Science of donut planets<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Toroidal](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/11\/donut-earth.jpg\")
Living on a donut Earth<\/strong><\/h2>
![\"Olympic](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-1731418438.jpg\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/11\/GettyImages-1294010507.jpg\")
The donut Earth myth<\/strong><\/h2>