Banjo and Sullivan asked:
And why?
And why?
* Obviously this is hypothetical since ships cannot sail on land. This in mind, consider the entire ship.
Noel
the crow’s nest (top of mast) moves the farthest distance. the hull is approximately at the water level so it travels 2*pi*radius_earth; the crow’s nest is at some height above the water level, h: it travels 2*pi*(radius_earth+h).
Comment by john s — June 18, 2008 @ 11:39 pm
Um…Yeah…What he said up there.
I have no clue…I get sea sick. LOL
Comment by LuLu's Finding Her Marbles — June 19, 2008 @ 10:58 am
lets say you have a ship 300 feet long.
You start with the bow on the Prime Meridian ( 0 degrees W).
Sail west avoiding minor things like continents.
When you come back around to 0 degrees, when the bow crosses the line you have completed your trip and the stern still has 300 feet to go.
The answer above would be correct, assuming the height of the ship is greater than it’s length. as it would on a sailboat.
Comment by yankee_sailor — June 22, 2008 @ 11:43 am
You have two good answers there BANJO!!! I’d aggree with the first if the mast is taller than 1/2 the length of the ship…if not…the bow wins….
….good to see you are always thinking!!!
Sammy!!!
Comment by Sammyleggs222 — June 24, 2008 @ 8:30 am
What type of ship? If there is no mast, I’d say the entire ship. The bow and stern traveled the same distance - unless part of the ship broke off during the voyage.
Comment by Richard D — June 26, 2008 @ 8:14 am