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in reply to The shortest distance between my keyboard and the Monastery is:

What is a rhump line ???
My dictionary answers "Isoazimutallinie", what just adds +∞ to my confusion...
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Re^2: The shortest distance between my keyboard and the Monastery is:
by Boots111 (Hermit) on Aug 05, 2005 at 15:47 UTC
    All~

    A rhumb line is used for nautical navigation. It can be difficult to follow a great circle as the heading of one constantly changes. Thus to go between to nearby points on the world one often uses a rhumbline. Essentially you figure out the initial heading that puts you to toward the point you wish to go to and follow a constant heading, you will take a rhumb line.

    Rhumb lines form a spiral to the nearest poll (unless your heading is 0). The advantage to having a constant heading is that it is easy to hold a constant heading in a control loop, wheras controlling on a great circle requires much more math.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhumb_line

    Boots
    ---
    Computer science is merely the post-Turing decline of formal systems theory.
    --???
[reply]

      Rhumb lines form a spiral to the nearest poll (unless your heading is 0).

      I really thought you were making a joke about the poll ideas quest here. Imagine how disappointed I was when it was a spelling error.

      But thanks for the information -- you learn something new every day around here.

[reply]
Re^2: The shortest distance between my keyboard and the Monastery is:
by tbone1 (Monsignor) on Aug 05, 2005 at 13:02 UTC
    Maybe it's supposed to be "a rhumba line"

    Cha. Cha. Cha.

    --
    tbone1, YAPS (Yet Another Perl Schlub)
    And remember, if he succeeds, so what.
    - Chick McGee

[reply]

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