If you translate (move without rotation) a copy of the line towards the curve, the first point where the line touches the curve (the tangent to the curve with the slope of the original line) will be the point on the curve closest to the line.
Draw a connecting line from this tangent point to the original line, intersecting that original line at right angles.
Measure the connecting segment. It is the shortest distance.
Vector analysis will give a mathematically strict solution, I do not have the ability to explain this in sufficient detail.
You get a curve. If you join them along the shortest [Euclidean] distance between them, you get a straight line.
... is called a Great Circle arc.
When you curve the line you are travelling you are no longer going directly from one point to the other. If you want to go from one point to another you would want to go directly to the second point.
Curve is one possible opposite of straight if straight refers to line that does not bend. Other meanings of straight like honest, heterosexual, and direct have different opposites than curve.
A tangent, but it (a) has nothing to do with croosing (whatever that may mean); and (b) while it does not cross the curve in the neighbourhood of the point of contact - there is no restriction on it crossing the curve at a distance.
You get a curve. If you join them along the shortest [Euclidean] distance between them, you get a straight line.
Actually, this turns out to be more of a debate than you might think. Historically, most of us were taught the shortest distance between two points is a straight line; that is a principle of Euclid's geometry. But not everyone agrees with Euclid, and there are other types of geometry. For example, because the Earth is a sphere, and not flat as distance maps portray it, that is why some scientists say that the shortest distance is actually a sphere or a curve (in other words, the distance would be measured by following the Earth's contours).
Actual distance travel is the total distance you actually traveled, including all the loops and curves. Straight line distance is the direct distance between the 2 places, in a straight line without a curve
... is called a Great Circle arc.
a straight line ^Wrong. A straight line is NOT the shortest distance between two places when you're on a globe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_circle This is mathematically proven using calculus. Another way to prove this is to take a globe, and get some string. Pick two points, and make a straight line with the string to measure the distance. Cut off the extra string so you are using the exact amount needed for a straight line. Now, use the great circle, and you will be able to reach the same point, and have extra string left over, proving that the great circle is shorter than the straight line.
When you curve the line you are travelling you are no longer going directly from one point to the other. If you want to go from one point to another you would want to go directly to the second point.
The shortest distance between any 2 points. An ideal zero-width, infinitely long, perfectly straight curve (the term curve in mathematics includes "straight curves") containing an infinite number of points. In Euclidean geometry, exactly one line can be found that passes through any two points.A line in math is a straight line that goes forever on each side.
Well, It wasnt exactly coined but here goes. Einstien agrees that the shortest distance b/w 2 points is a staight line but then he says that it depends on your point of view: if you draw a straight line on a piece of paper then fold it, to you it will become curved but to an ant walking along that line it is still straight so it all depends on the observer and the plane of geomety since it can curve. You could say that Einstien proved it but as far as who coined it ... I would say Euclid: for euclidean geometry states those very words.
The graph of distance vs. time squared will usually be a curve rather than a straight line. This curve represents a non-uniform acceleration or changing velocity over time, as opposed to constant velocity where the graph would be a straight line. The shape of the curve will depend on the specific relationship between distance and time squared in the given scenario.
Straight lines are defined as lines that extend in one direction without curving or bending. In geometry, a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. They have a constant direction and do not change in orientation.
An imaginary line that follows the curve of the Earth is called a great circle. It represents the shortest distance between two points on the Earth's surface and is often used in navigation and mapping.
The absorbance versus concentration curve is rarely straight because the relationship between absorbance and concentration is not always linear. Factors such as non-linear interactions between molecules, chemical reactions, and instrumental limitations can cause the curve to be curved instead of straight.