great circle arc

great circle arc

English

Noun

great circle arc (plural great circle arcs)

1. Alternative form of great-circle arc
   • 2011, David C. Kay, College Geometry: A Unified Development, CRC Press (→ISBN), page 569:

     If the string is gradually pulled tight, it begins to assume the position of what appears to be a great circle arc PAQ.

   • 2012, I. M. Gelfand, S. V. Fomin, Calculus of Variations, Courier Corporation (→ISBN)

     For example, a great circle arc on a given sphere is the shortest curve joining its end points if the arc consists of less than half a circle, ...

   • 1985, Robin M. Green, Robin Michael Green, Spherical Astronomy, Cambridge University Press (→ISBN), page 14:

     The shortest distance between these two points is the great circle arc XY which is a part of the spherical triangle NXY.