length of the polar nautical mile
Sorry to sound like a noob but i have a little predicament about the length of the nautical mile. Every place i read it says the length of the is more at the poles ...why?
Everyone knows that radius of earth is less at poles so the pole is closer to the center of the earth ....now my argument is that i take a torch and i switch it on at 1 m away it will have a smaller circumference of light then at 3 meters away... the angle(beam width,if u may) this light subtends remains the same at both places but closer distance is less and far away distance is more...so why is the length of the nautical mile more at poles..
i am assuming this has something to do with geocentric and geodetic latitude but cant figure it out any help highly appreciated...
Last edited by Shabez; 25th Mar 2011 at 01:27.