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The two points and the centre of the earth define a plane, and the intersection of this plane with the surface of the earth is a circle - the "Great Circle". The shortest distance between the two points is the smaller of the two arcs on this circle.

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Q: Shortest distance between two points on the earth?
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Which month the distance between earth and sun is shortest?

the distance between the earth and sun is shortest in the month of...


A imaginary line that follows the curve of the earth the shortest distance between two points on a globe?

... is called a Great Circle arc.


What is shortest distance between two points?

If they are in the same plane then it is the length of the straight line joining them. If they are not in a plane then things get complicated. On the surface of the earth (a sphere), the shortest distance is an arc along the great circle. The great circle is a circle whose centre is the centre of the earth and which passes through the two places. This is why New York to Tokyo flights go over the Arctic region. With polyhedra, one way to find the shortest distance is to mark the two points on a net the shape. If you can draw a straight line between the points such that all of it is on the net, then that is the shortest distance. You may need to play around with different nets.


What is the shortest route between 2 points on the surface of a planet?

The shortest route between two points on the surface of a planet, when routes are limited to the planet's surface, is the arc of the great circle that connects the two points. The shortest route between two points anywhere, without regard to intervening matter or energy preventing the route from being followed, is always the line connecting the two points.


How can the shortest distance between two points be a curve?

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).


What is the converse of a straight-line distance between two points?

There is not a converse, as such, but there are other metrics that may be applicable in different circumstances. One such is the Manhattan distance (deeloped by Minkovsky) which uses the grid pattern of roads as a way to measue distances. On the non-planar surface, such as that of the earth, the shortest distance between two points will be along the "Great Circle" passing through the two points. In some situations people may be interested in the fastest route between two points even if it is not the shortest straight line distance.


The distance between 2 point is called?

It is simply called the distance between the two points - simple as that. How that distance is measured will depend on the nature of the surface on which the two points are located as well as on the metric for measuring distance that is defined on that space.The common metric in Euclidean space is the Pythagorean distance while on the surface of a sphere (like the Earth, for example), distances are measured along the great arc.


What is the shortest most direct route between any two points on te surface of the earth?

Assuming the earth to be a perfect sphere, the shortest distance is an arc of the great circle. The two places and the centre of the earth define a plane. The great circle is the circle formed by the intersection of that plane and the surface of the earth. The shortest route between the two places is the smaller of the two arcs along that circle.


On the earth's surface what circle's center is the earth's center?

Every so-called "great circle" is (more or less) the longest circumference of the Earth that includes any two points. The great circle includes the shortest distance between the two points for travel along the Earth's surface.


What is most useful for measuring the shortest distance between two places on the earth and path between them?

Globe


What is the shortest distance between 2 places on the earth that starts with f?

five feet


What does the great-circle route represent?

It is the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, where the sphere in question is the earth. Particularly long airline flights follow great circle routes.