The Earth As An Ellipsoid
Comment: early literature uses the term oblate spheroid to describe a sphere "squashed at the poles". Modern literature uses the term "ellipsoid of revolution" although the qualifying words "of revolution" are usually dropped. An ellipsoid which is not an ellipsoid of revolution is called a tri-axial ellipsoid. Spheroid and ellipsoid are used interchangeably in this article.
Read more about this topic: Meridian Arc
Famous quotes containing the word earth:
“Now listen, buddy, there are a few corny ideas you got to get out of your head if you’re going to fly an airplane. Most things are just the reverse from what people think. The higher you are the safer you are. The Earth down there, that, that’s your enemy because once you hit that, boy, you splatter.”
—Dalton Trumbo (1905–1976)