The earth, which we live on, is approximately a sphere. It is important, therefore, to know spherical trigonometry.
Chat with our AI personalities
Historically, it is because we live on a planet which is approximately spherical. 2-dimensional trigonometry was adequate for relatively small shapes where the curvature of the earth had negligible effect. For larger shapes the spherical nature of the earth was important and therefore, so was spherical trigonometry.
plane trigonometry spherical trigonometry
Trigonometry is the study of plane and spherical triangles. Plane trigonometry deals with 2 Dimensional triangles like the ones you would draw on a piece of paper. But, spherical trigonometry deals with circles and 3 Dimensional triangles. Plane trigonometry uses different numbers and equations than spherical trigonometry. There's plane trigonometry, where you work with triangles on a flat surface, then there's spherical trigonometry, where you work with triangles on a sphere.
For navigational purposes
He defined the spherical triangle