geodesic








adjective

  1. Also ge·o·des·i·cal. pertaining to the geometry of curved surfaces, in which geodesic lines take the place of the straight lines of plane geometry.

noun

  1. geodesic line.

adjective

  1. Also: geodetic, geodesical relating to or involving the geometry of curved surfaces

noun

  1. Also called: geodesic line the shortest line between two points on a curved or plane surface
adj.

1821, from geodesy “surveying” + -ic. Alternative adjective form geodetic is from 1834; geodetical is from c.1600. Geodesic dome attested from 1953.

Noun

  1. A curve that locally minimizes the distance between two points on any mathematically defined space, such as a curved manifold. Equivalently, it is a path of minimal curvature. In noncurved three-dimensional space, the geodesic is a straight line. In General Relativity, the trajectory of a body with negligible mass on which only gravitational forces are acting (i.e. a free falling body) is a geodesic in (curved) 4-dimensional space-time.

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to the branch of geometry that deals with geodesics.
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