Prove that at any time there are two opposite points along the Equator, which have exactly the same temperature. Assume the temperature function varies continuously as you move along the Equator.

Counterargument: This is patently impossible. If there are such points on the Equator, there must also be similar points on any circle around the Earth, such as a meridian. But in that case, we'd have one point in the north hemisphere, in winter, and the other in the south, in summer; that doesn't make sense!

What's wrong with this reasoning?

temperatures in the different hemispheres mostly depend on how far away you move above or below the equator excluding other factors angle of the sun etc. so at the equator there should be a relatively consistent temperature. The earth bulges at the equator too, so along any other circle around the earth there are different distortions of its shape it is not uniformly circular. 

Posted by lenny on 2005-03-27 14:26:19