Longest Navigable Route with out hitting land

[tbodine88]

So the computer scientists have found this:



Mentioned in this article
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/6...thout-hitting/


So I am wondering if they thought about depths through out the trip?

Any one who has sailed near the coast of africa have a feeling for this?

Thanks.

[sailormed]

Kepleronlyknows must have been out of this world. But he was right!

[valhalla360]

It's neither the longest navigable route (as indicated in the thread title) nor the longest straight line (as indicated in the article).

It's the longest great circle route without hitting land. Ironically, in navigation, great circle routes are typically used to find the shortest distance not the longest.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

It's neither the longest navigable route (as indicated in the thread title) nor the longest straight line (as indicated in the article).

Guess that depends on how you define a "straight line" on the surface of a sphere. If you use the generally accepted "shortest distance between two points", then the arc of a Great Circle between two locations is a "straight line" and the article is correct, that is indeed the longest "straight line" on the planet which doesn't touch land.

[Dsanduril]

Here it is as a "straight line":



I suspect there may be a problem in the 1.85km resolution. When I plotted it in OpenCPN yesterday I saw potential problems in the Seychelles and the Aleutians. Might be able to massage it a bit to solve those, but that got to be too much work

[JPA Cate]

We all remember being taught that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line", Euclidian geometry, plane geometry.

Then, amazement at the simple fact that the shortest distance between two points is a great circle route!

Take that, Flat Earth Society!

Ann

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by JPA Cate

We all remember being taught that "the shortest distance between two points is a straight line", Euclidian geometry, plane geometry.

Then, amazement at the simple fact that the shortest distance between two points is a great circle route!

Take that, Flat Earth Society!

Ann

Shortest distance between two points is still a straight line but depending on how far you are going and how deep the water is, you will at least need a submarine to follow it...possibly one with the ability to drill thru the seafloor.

The shortest distance along a spherically curved surface is a great circle route but neither the surface nor the path is "straight".

[bobmcd625]

Interesting, but rather futile. Who would make that voyage? Start in Pakistan to go to Eastern Russia? Of course it all depends on the accuracy of the cartography. Depth could also be an issue. Based on a Zero Draft vessel! Still give credit to the guy(s) who worked it out. Way beyond my math skills!

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by bobmcd625

Interesting, but rather futile. Who would make that voyage? Start in Pakistan to go to Eastern Russia? Of course it all depends on the accuracy of the cartography. Depth could also be an issue. Based on a Zero Draft vessel! Still give credit to the guy(s) who worked it out. Way beyond my math skills!

Then there is the problem of steering it....

[Juho]

See also earlier discussion in http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...th-157265.html.

If you want a straight line, the winner could be a roughly 400 nm route for submarines in the Mariana Trench.

[2big2small]

Originally Posted by bobmcd625

Still give credit to the guy(s) who worked it out. Way beyond my math skills!

No need for maths, and those guys are dead wrong! :

The longest route is to circle around Antartica infinitely. Duh.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Shortest distance between two points is still a straight line but depending on how far you are going and how deep the water is, you will at least need a submarine to follow it...possibly one with the ability to drill thru the seafloor.

The shortest distance along a spherically curved surface is a great circle route but neither the surface nor the path is "straight".

Again, it depends on your frame of reference. When discussing two dimensional spherical geometry, a great circle is a straight line since it is the shortest distance between two points. IF you start at one of those locations facing in a certain direction and sail "straight ahead" or "follow your nose", you will end up at the other location.

Your stance is similar to saying that "line of sight" between the Sun and Alpha Centauri isn't the shortest distance between them because there is a shorter fourth dimensional wormhole between them

According to your definition, there is no such thing as a straight line route of any length, anywhere on the surface of the planet.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by 2big2small

No need for maths, and those guys are dead wrong! :

The longest route is to circle around Antartica infinitely. Duh.

But that's not a "straight line". And it's debatable whether it qualifies as a "route".

[Kelkara]

Originally Posted by StuM

Again, it depends on your frame of reference. When discussing two dimensional spherical geometry, a great circle is a straight line since it is the shortest distance between two points.

Do you have to define "straight" as the shortest distance between two points? In Euclidean space it could equally well be defined as a line with constant bearing along its length ... which would be a rhumb-line on a spherical surface.

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by StuM

Guess that depends on how you define a "straight line" on the surface of a sphere. If you use the generally accepted "shortest distance between two points", then the arc of a Great Circle between two locations is a "straight line" and the article is correct, that is indeed the longest "straight line" on the planet which doesn't touch land.

Correct! But the Flat Earthers will certainly disagree.

The Earth is, technically, not a sphere. It's an ellipsoid, and a lumpy one at that. It's a little bigger around the equator than around at the poles.