2006-09-08 10:49:09 · 22 answers · asked by nicola p 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
nautical ... or called a sea mile
1852 metres exactly.
2006-09-08 10:51:44 · answer #1 · answered by peachy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A land mile is a set distance, whereas a nautical mile will vary slightly in length depending on how close you are to the equator. this is all to do with the way the the earth can be seperated into degrees, but because it's not perfectly round, by the time you get to the outer edge near the poles the disatnce between is greater than the distance near the equator.
it's hard to explain but if you draw an orb on the page and draw lines going from the middle out, all at the same degrees in the middle you will see that as you go further north the distance becomes larger. each of these degrees is then divided into forty (i think, but it's been a while since i did this) and these are nautical miles, therfore at the poles a nautical mile is longer than at the eqautor. it is hard to explain without drwaing a picture but i hope you've followed my gist!
If you ever look at a sailing chart you will see this is taking into account as variability.
2006-09-08 18:00:11 · answer #2 · answered by ali k 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A nautical mile is defined as 1 minute (1/60th of a degree) of longitude at the equator, but is usually measured on a nautical chart (map for you landlubbers) as 1 minute of longitude at the latitude that you're at. Although this means that the exact length is variable, it's accepted for general use to be 1,852 meters. It's subdivided into cables (1/10th of a nautical mile). International treaties and laws use the international measurement of 1852 meters. Ships at sea use the measurement at local latitude.
A land mile is about 1600 meters, always forget exactly how much, making an NM significantly longer.
2006-09-08 18:09:01 · answer #3 · answered by Paul D 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. If you were to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. You could divide that circle into 360 degrees. You could then divide a degree into 60 minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all nations for air and sea travel.
A knot is a unit of measure for speed. If you are traveling at a speed of 1 nautical mile per hour, you are said to be traveling at a speed of 1 knot.
A kilometer is also defined using the planet Earth as a standard of distance. If you were to take the Earth and cut it in half along a line passing from the North Pole through Paris, and then measure the distance of the curve running from the North Pole to the equator on that circle, and then divide that distance by 10,000, you would have the traditional unit for the kilometer as defined in 1791 by the French Academy of Sciences.
A nautical mile is 1,852 meters, or 1.852 kilometers. In the English measurement system, a nautical mile is 1.1508 miles, or 6,076 feet.
To travel around the Earth at the equator, you would have to travel (360 * 60) 21,600 nautical miles, 24,857 miles or 40,003 kilometers.
2006-09-08 19:19:18 · answer #4 · answered by Chariotmender 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
A nautical miel is 1852 metres, where a land mile is 1600 (more or less) metres.
A nautical mile is used for navigational purposes, being exactly one minute of arc along the meridian of the earth.
2006-09-08 17:55:33 · answer #5 · answered by PETER S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A nautical mile is longer and wetter than a land mile.
2006-09-12 09:21:08 · answer #6 · answered by Headcase 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The notical mile is in fact equivalent to 1 and 1/8th mile, such as is used in measuring distance on the Oceans and seas. The notical mile is what the Navy uses...and I learned this myself while in the Navy years ago...it is 1 and 1/8th mile
2006-09-09 01:45:43 · answer #7 · answered by LARRY M 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you mean a nautical mile, which is larger than a regular mile. I am not sure how much larger, but this information could probably be found on a basic scientific or survey website.
2006-09-08 17:53:32 · answer #8 · answered by msi_cord 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The international standard definition is: 1 nautical mile = 1852 metres exactly.
Now, look up how many metres there are in a normal mile.
2006-09-08 17:52:51 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you mean nautical mile it is a unit of length used in air and sea navigation based on the length of one minute of arc of a great circle, especially an international and U. S. unit equal to approx 6,076 feet (1,852 meters), it is also called a "sea mile". It would be longer than a land mile which has 5,280 feet (1,609 meters).
2006-09-08 19:33:57 · answer #10 · answered by Not one of the crowd! 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
A statute mile is 1760 yards(not metres-thats metric!) and a nautical mile is 2026 yards. If you must express it in metric units a statute mile is1609.3 mtr and a nautical mile is1861.96mtr.
2006-09-11 08:25:15 · answer #11 · answered by mactheboat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋