| 释义 |
Loxodromic curve
| (Geom.) | a line on the surface of a sphere, which always makes an equal angle with every meridian; the rhumb line. It is the line on which a ship sails when her course is always in the direction of one and the same point of the compass. |
See also: Loxodromic loxodromic curve
rhumb line A rhumb line crosses all meridians at the same angle.A line on the surface of the earth that cuts all meridians at the same angle. It appears as a curved line on the surface of a sphere. Only one such line may be drawn through any two points. Although this is not the shortest distance, the direction is constant. Normally, flights of less than 1,000 NM distance follow the rhumb-line track, whereas flights of a longer distance follow the great-circle track. Also called an equiangular spiral, loxodrome, loxodromic curve, or Mercator track.ThesaurusSeerhumb line |