Definitions for great circle
great cir·cle

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. great circlenoun

   a circular line on the surface of a sphere formed by intersecting it with a plane passing through the center

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. great circlenoun

   A circle defined as the intersection of the surface of a sphere and a plane which passes through the centre of the sphere.

2. great circlenoun

   A segment of such circle representing the shortest distance between two points on the surface of a sphere.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Great circle

   In mathematics, a great circle or orthodrome is the circular intersection of a sphere and a plane passing through the sphere's center point.Any arc of a great circle is a geodesic of the sphere, so that great circles in spherical geometry are the natural analog of straight lines in Euclidean space. For any pair of distinct non-antipodal points on the sphere, there is a unique great circle passing through both. (Every great circle through any point also passes through its antipodal point, so there are infinitely many great circles through two antipodal points.) The shorter of the two great-circle arcs between two distinct points on the sphere is called the minor arc, and is the shortest surface-path between them. Its arc length is the great-circle distance between the points (the intrinsic distance on a sphere), and is proportional to the measure of the central angle formed by the two points and the center of the sphere. A great circle is the largest circle that can be drawn on any given sphere. Any diameter of any great circle coincides with a diameter of the sphere, and therefore every great circle is concentric with the sphere and shares the same radius. Any other circle of the sphere is called a small circle, and is the intersection of the sphere with a plane not passing through its center. Small circles are the spherical-geometry analog of circles in Euclidean space. Every circle in Euclidean 3-space is a great circle of exactly one sphere. The disk bounded by a great circle is called a great disk: it is the intersection of a ball and a plane passing through its center. In higher dimensions, the great circles on the n-sphere are the intersection of the n-sphere with 2-planes that pass through the origin in the Euclidean space Rn + 1.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. great circle

   A great circle is the largest possible circle that can be drawn on the surface of a spherical object or celestial body, such as a Planet or Star. It divides the sphere into two equal halves, going through the center of the sphere, with its plane also passing through the center of the sphere. Equator and meridians on Earth are examples of great circles.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Great circle

   A great circle, also known as an orthodrome or Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center. Any diameter of any great circle coincides with a diameter of the sphere, and therefore all great circles have the same circumference as each other, and have the same center as the sphere. A great circle is the largest circle that can be drawn on any given sphere. Every circle in Euclidean space is a great circle of exactly one sphere. For any two points on the surface of a sphere there is a great circle through the two points. The minor arc of a great circle between two points is the shortest surface-path between them. In this sense the minor arc is analogous to “straight lines” in spherical geometry. The length of the minor arc of a great circle is taken as the distance between two points on a surface of a sphere, namely the great-circle distance. The great circles are the geodesics of the sphere. In higher dimensions, the great circles on the n-sphere are the intersection of the n-sphere with two-planes that pass through the origin in the Euclidean space R+1.

Dictionary of Nautical TermsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. great circle

   One whose assumed plane passes through the centre of the sphere, dividing it equally.

Matched Categories

1. • Line

How to pronounce great circle?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say great circle in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of great circle in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of great circle in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=great circle
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Great_Circle
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Circle
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=great circle
6. ^ Dictionary of Nautical Terms
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/26000/pg26000-images.html#:~:text=great circle