5 ms·

>they'll show you why it's a much more practical unit for what they do. Why? Why is it more practical? How is it better other than being more familiar? It blow

by Permit 14y ago

>they'll show you why it's a much more practical unit for what they do. Why? Why is it more practical? How is it better other than being more familiar? It blows me away that people can make the argument as it being "better".

gshubert17 14y ago
One nautical mile is very nearly the length of one minute of arc at the earth's surface.
- geon 14y ago
  Wouldn't that make the arc-minute the practical unit?
  - kbutler 14y ago
    > Wouldn't that make the arc-minute the practical unit? Yes. However, the earth is not a perfect sphere. The nautical mile is an average arc-minute.
    - cygx 14y ago
      And the kilometer is an average centigrad.
      - ISL 14y ago
        Thanks for triggering a rarely used synapse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grad_(angle) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grad_(angle)
    - siscia 14y ago
      For what I know the nautical mile change due to your position in the Earth...
DanBC 14y ago
Why does it matter if people are using "one nautical mile" or "1852 metres"? (http://metricviews.org.uk/2010/01/why-do-nautical-miles-linger-on/ http://metricviews.org.uk/2010/01/why-do-nautical-miles-ling...)