We journey by street, water, or air. On roads, the odometer exhibits meters, and the speedometer shows kilometers per hour (km/h). However measuring distance in air or water isn’t as easy. That is the place nautical miles, a unit of size specifically designed for navigation in air, sea, and area, is available in. “The nautical mile relies on geography, historical past, and practicality. It equals 1.852 km (1.851853 km by worldwide customary) and was outlined in 1929 by the Worldwide Hydrographic Group (IHO). Whereas each items relate to Earth’s measurement, the meter (1/10,000,000 of the Earth’s meridian) fits land measurements higher and lacks a transparent hyperlink to latitude and longitude. The nautical mile isn’t a part of the Worldwide System of Items (SI),” defined Dr Harshada Babrekar, Ph.D. Physics, guide for Tutorial Improvement, Maharashtra Information Company Restricted (MKCL).
Prof. Jayant Pande, College of Physics, FLAME College, mentioned traditionally, sailors used nautical miles for hundreds of years to navigate over massive distances within the sea. “Significantly when world navigation began to be carried out broadly by European explorers within the sixteenth century, it was a matter of nice comfort for them to know that the space traveled by ship over a sea alongside a longitudinal meridian held a direct relationship to the levels of latitude that had been crossed by the ship,” mentioned Prof. Pande.
Because the latitudes are equally spaced alongside the Earth’s floor, such that there are 180 levels of latitude in whole from the North Pole to the South Pole, the calculation meant that one nautical mile equalled 1/(180*60)th of the space alongside a meridian from the North to the South Pole. “Once more, this assumes the Earth to be a sphere, which is an in depth approximation to its precise form of an oblate spheroid. This definition of a nautical mile, primarily based on the space between two levels of latitude, makes it a useful unit for navigation, each for sailors and pilots, and helps them to pinpoint the latitude of a degree simply and exactly,” mentioned Prof. Pande.
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Take, as an example, Dr Harshada defined that if a airplane is passing from Level A with Latitude 35° N, Longitude 118° W, and Level B: Latitude 38° N, Longitude 120° W (not considering longitude distinction only for simplicity):
Latitude Distinction: 38° – 35° = 3°
Convert to Minutes: 3° * 60 minutes/diploma = 180 minutes
Nautical Miles: 180 minutes * 1 nautical mile/minute = 180 nautical miles (roughly)
Kilometers: 1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers = 180 * 1.852 = 333 km
The Worldwide Civil Aviation Group (ICAO) and Worldwide Maritime Group (IMO) mandate using nautical miles as a worldwide customary for ships and plane to scale back confusion. “Every nautical mile equals one minute of latitude, permitting pilots to map routes exactly and navigate with ease. This standardisation helps preserve course utilizing maps, ensures safer flights, and helps correct GPS-based navigation,” mentioned Dr Harshada.
Consultants clarify the mathematics (Picture: Freepik)
Prof. Pande mentioned {that a} nautical mile is extra suited to navigation over a physique of water, whose floor may be continuously altering, than ground-based items equivalent to kilometers and miles. “With that mentioned, on account of causes of standardisation, in fashionable occasions, a world nautical mile has been globally outlined to have a size of precisely 1852 meters, which signifies that one can, if wanted, convert from the nautical mile to an SI unit equivalent to a kilometer,” mentioned Prof. Pande.
Utilizing nautical miles additionally streamlines flight planning and promotes worldwide coordination in aviation. “If world adoption of the metric system grows just like the gradual shift in america, kilometers could grow to be widespread in on a regular basis use. However in skilled navigation and aviation, nautical miles will proceed to dominate,” mentioned Dr Harshada.
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DISCLAIMER: This text relies on info from the general public area and/or the specialists we spoke to.
