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the inverse geodesic problem or second geodesic problem, given A and B, determine s 12, α 1, and α 2. As can be seen from Fig. 1, these problems involve solving the triangle NAB given one angle, α 1 for the direct problem and λ 12 = λ 2 − λ 1 for the inverse problem, and its two adjacent sides.
As noted above, the iterative solution to the inverse problem fails to converge or converges slowly for nearly antipodal points. An example of slow convergence is (Φ 1, L 1) = (0°, 0°) and (Φ 2, L 2) = (0.5°, 179.5°) for the WGS84 ellipsoid. This requires about 130 iterations to give a result accurate to 1 mm. Depending on how the inverse ...
Common examples include the great ellipse (containing the center of the ellipsoid) and normal sections (containing an ellipsoid normal direction). Earth section paths are useful as approximate solutions for geodetic problems, the direct and inverse calculation of geographic distances.
The solutions to both problems in plane geometry reduce to simple trigonometry and are valid for small areas on Earth's surface; on a sphere, solutions become significantly more complex as, for example, in the inverse problem, the azimuths differ going between the two end points along the arc of the connecting great circle.
Solving the geodesic equations is a procedure used in mathematics, particularly Riemannian geometry, and in physics, particularly in general relativity, that results in obtaining geodesics. Physically, these represent the paths of (usually ideal) particles with no proper acceleration , their motion satisfying the geodesic equations.
Finding the geodesic between two points on the Earth, the so-called inverse geodetic problem, was the focus of many mathematicians and geodesists over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries with major contributions by Clairaut, [5] Legendre, [6] Bessel, [7] and Helmert English translation of Astron. Nachr. 4, 241–254 (1825). Errata. [8]
NE, NAF, and NBH are meridians. The azimuths of the geodesic at E, A, and B are α 0, α 1, α 2, respectively. The direct and inverse geodesic problems solve the triangle problem NAB given an angle, α 1 for the direct problem and λ 12 for the inverse problem, and its two adjacent sides.
To measure momenta correctly, one must use the inverse of the metric. The motion of a free particle on a curved surface still has exactly the same form as above, i.e. consisting entirely of a kinetic term. The resulting motion is still, in a sense, a "straight line", which is why it is sometimes said that geodesics are "straight lines in curved ...