There are some points on Earth for which the following is true:
Starting from one of these points, you can walk 1 km South, then 1 km East, then 1 km North, and you will wind up back where you started from.
One such point is the North Pole. Where are others?
(In reply to
TomM's answer in mathmatical terms by Zach Bolinger)
TomM describes the set of correct answers, but his math is slightly off. Since we're dealing with the surface of a sphere here, a circle with radius n does not have a circumference of 2*pi*n, but slightly less.
The earth has a circumference of 24,000 NM (nautical miles). As an extere case, consider the circle ceneterd on the south pole with a radius of 6,000 NM. (This circle is the equator.) Its circumference is 24,000 NM, a scant 4 times its radius, not 6.28 times its radius.
Admittedly, with the 160 meter and smaller circles contemplated, the inaccurracy is negligible. Negligible, but not zero.
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Posted by Jim Lyon
on 2002-08-07 10:56:08 |
re: TomM's answer in mathmatical terms
