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1. A geodesic is the shortest path between two points on a surface. On a sphere, the geodesic is a great circle. 2. To find the geodesic, the element of length on the surface of a sphere is derived. Minimizing the distance between two points yields an equation involving angles θ and φ. 3. Solving the equation gives an expression relating cotθ to φ, which can be written as an equation of a plane passing through the center of the sphere. Therefore, the geodesic is the intersection of this plane with the spherical surface, which is a great circle.

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Atharv Aggarwal
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42 views

Problems

1. A geodesic is the shortest path between two points on a surface. On a sphere, the geodesic is a great circle. 2. To find the geodesic, the element of length on the surface of a sphere is derived. Minimizing the distance between two points yields an equation involving angles θ and φ. 3. Solving the equation gives an expression relating cotθ to φ, which can be written as an equation of a plane passing through the center of the sphere. Therefore, the geodesic is the intersection of this plane with the spherical surface, which is a great circle.

Uploaded by

Atharv Aggarwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

Adarsh Mishra

March 12, 2024

1 PROBLEM 1
A geodesic is a line that represents the shortest path between any two points when the path is restricted
to a particular surface. Find the geodesic on a sphere.

◦
SOLUTION The element of length on the surface of a sphere of radius ρ is given (see Equation
F. 15 with dr = 0 ) by
1/2
ds = ρ dθ2 + sin2 θdϕ2
The distance s between points 1 and 2 is therefore
" 2 #1/2
Z 2
dθ 2
s=ρ + sin θ dϕ
1 dϕ

and, if s is to be a minimum, f is identified as


1/2
f = θ′2 + sin2 θ

where θ′ ≡ dθ/dϕ. Because ∂f /∂ϕ = 0, we may use the second form of the Euler equation (Equation
6.40), which yields
1/2 ∂ 1/2
θ′2 + sin2 θ − θ′ · ′
θ′2 + sin2 θ = constant ≡ a
∂θ
Differentiating and multiplying through by f , we have
1/2
sin2 θ = a θ′2 + sin2 θ

This may be solved for dϕ/dθ = θ′−1 , with the result

dϕ a csc2 θ
= 1/2
dθ (1 − a2 csc2 θ)

Solving for ϕ, we obtain  


cot θ −1
ϕ = sin +α
β

where α is the constant of integration and β 2 ≡ 1 − a2 /a2 . Rewriting Equation 6.47 produces

cot θ = β sin(ϕ − α)

To interpret this result, we convert the equation to rectangular coordinates by multiplying through
by ρ sin θ to obtain, on expanding sin(ϕ − α),

(β cos α)ρ sin θ sin ϕ − (β sin α)ρ sin θ cos ϕ = ρ cos θ

Because α and β are constants, we may write them as

β cos α ≡ A, β sin α ≡ B

1
Then Equation becomes

A(ρ sin θ sin ϕ) − B(ρ sin θ cos ϕ) = (ρ cos θ)

The quantities in the parentheses are just the expressions for y, x, and z, respec tively, in spherical
coordinates ; therefore Equatior may be written as

Ay − Bx = z

which is the equation of a plane passing through the center of the sphere. Hence the geodesic on a
sphere is the path that the plane forms at the intersection with the surface of the sphere-a great circle.
Note that the great circle is the maximum as well as the minimum ”straight-line” distance between
two points on the surface of a sphere.

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