Earth vs World

We all know Earth is the planet we live on. We hear, see or use the word Earth almost every day, yet the word world is used even more frequently. Have you ever pondered the difference between the two words?

Earth isn’t terribly complex. It can refer to soil or dirt: She sowed the seeds in the fertile earth. However, when capitalized, Earth is the name of one of nine planets in our solar system. (Earth is the densest and fifth biggest biggest planet (it’s the largest of the solar system’s four terrestrial planets) after Neptune, and is the third planet from the sun, after Venus and before Mars.)

Earth is sometimes referred to as the Blue Planet, by its Latin name, Terra, or by an even more intriguing name, Gaia (more about that in another article in this series). But people most commonly refer to Earth as the world, a very powerful and useful word. (Where in the world have you been?)

Our Living World

World is a much more complex concept; just take a look at the definitions offered by Merriam-Webster. These definitions tend to focus on two things: Earth and living things, particularly people.

In other words, the word world tends to focus more on life. You might think of the world as the planet Earth seen through living things’ eyes. Of course, the two words overlap and can mean pretty much the same thing, depending on the context in which they’re used. Nevertheless, they’re very different in the ways they’re commonly used.

A Closer Look

Let’s explore these words some more...

The World Around Us

People live all over the world, primarily on the continents but also on islands scattered throughout the world’s oceans. People also travel across the oceans on ships and dive deep beneath the surface in submarines. In addition, people can fly through the sky in a variety of aircraft.

Of course, people can easily see through the sky. We can see beautiful clouds drifting across the sky. We can even see the moon, sun and distant stars if the sky isn’t too cloudy. In fact, the sun, moon and stars are part of our lives, figuring in navigation, religion, folklore and mythology. Farmers and sail plant or sail by the sun and moon.

A World Apart

But Earth’s interior is a different story. It’s a dark and forgotten realm never before seen by any living thing.

We can explore the uppermost reaches of Earth’s crust via caves, tunnels and mine shafts. We can drill holes deep in the Earth in search of oil or simply for scientific studies.

But these forays are extremely superficial. Earth has a diameter of 7,926.41 miles (12,756.32 km) at the equator (7,901 miles/12,715.43 km at the poles), yet few people will ever travel more than a mile beneath the crust’s surface. For all practical purposes, everything beneath the ground we walk on is invisible. In fact, most of us are more familiar with the stars than we are the ground beneath our homes.

Round vs Flat

Long ago, many people believed the world is flat. Scientists proved them wrong, even before the advent of flight. Of course, we now have photos taken from space that clearly show that Earth is round.

Yet the world we live in remains a relatively flat place. The horizon may be gently curved, the ground is warped by mountains and valleys, and the planets and stars follow circular paths in the heavens. But the ground we walk on is flat. How can the world be round and flat at the same time?

Like so many things in life, flatness is an illusion. Stand on a soccer ball, and you’ll know you’re standing on something round. But if the soccer ball is as big as Earth, it will seem flat. Looking at it another way, a soccer ball might seem flat to a microscopic organism.

Of course, we’re aware of our world’s inherently round nature when we jump on a jet and fly to a country on the other side of the world. But we couldn’t function normally without the illusion of flatness.

However, scientists live in a different world, one that has little time for illusions. Scientists describe Earth as a series of spheres, similar to a soccer ball made of distinct layers. We’ll learn more about these spheres in the next articles.

Our Big World

I’ve never been to the Four Corners area of the American Southwest, the only place where four states meet. However, I have lived or worked in the four corners of North America - the island of Newfoundland (off the east coast of Canada), Key West (Florida), San Diego (California) and Barrow (Alaska). I’ve also been to (or near) the four corners of Alaska (Barrow, the arctic coast near Canada, the Aleutian Islands and Southeast Alaska).

In fact, I worked in Alaska as a wildlife biologist for a decade, traveling widely across the state. Yet I feel like I barely scratched the surface. To put it in perspective, a person could spend an entire lifetime exploring just one of Alaska’s national parks or wildlife refuges.

Some people spend much of their adult lives guiding people to the top of one particular mountain, like Mt. Rainier (Washington). Some dedicate their lives to unraveling the mysteries of ancient cities or archaeological sites. Other people spend their entire lives studying dance or the arts in New York City, Los Angeles or Paris.

Satellite photos and electronic communications make the world seem much smaller, yet the world is still a huge place.

Global Definitions

So let’s think of the world as that portion of the planet Earth that’s familiar to us - primarily the surface of the planet - including rivers, lakes and the sea - and the atmosphere. However, the sun, moon and distant stars are also a part of our lives. So, in a sense, world can be synonymous with the word universe.

Below are GeoWorld’s definitions for the word world. The first definition describes a world much smaller than Earth itself, while the second definition describes a world much bigger than Earth.

Series: Introduction to GeoWorld (10 articles)