[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Loxodromy

On Fri, 11 Apr 2003, Jacques L'helgoualc'h wrote:

> I believe sample.tex is wrong,  as spherical spirals obtained by central
> projection  of  helixes don't  cross  meridians  with  a constant  angle
> (samples/sphere.xp).
>
Jacques,

Thanks for the code; I'll look carefully through it in the next couple of
days. But mathematically speaking, radial projection from a circumscribed
cylinder to a sphere is conformal, isn't it? (Essentially the logarithm
function on the Riemann sphere, or Mercator projection, as one prefers.)
If so, then helices should project to loxodromes...

--Andy

Andrew D. Hwang			ahwang at mathcs dot holycross dot edu
Department of Math and CS	http://mathcs.holycross.edu/~ahwang
College of the Holy Cross	(508) 793-2458 (Office: 320 Swords)
Worcester, MA, 01610-2395	(508) 793-3530 (fax)