In the original sense, a geodesic was the shortest route between two points on the Earth's surface. For a spherical Earth, it is a segment of a great circle (see also great-circle distance).

4 days ago · A geodesic is a locally length-minimizing curve. Equivalently, it is a path that a particle which is not accelerating would follow. In the plane, the geodesics are straight lines. …

Joseph Howlett, Quanta Magazine, 3 Mar. 2025 In fact, for curved spaces, the shortest path is what’s known as a geodesic: the generalization of a straight, flat line to a curved space.

Illustrated definition of Geodesic: The shortest line segment between two points on a sphere or other curved surface. A Geodesic Dome is made with...

A geodesic, the shortest distance between any two points on a sphere, is an arc of the great circle through the two points. The formula for determining a sphere’s surface area is 4π r2; its …

GEODESIC meaning: 1. relating to the shortest possible line between two points on a sphere or other curved surface 2…. Learn more.

The term geodesic is derived from the Greek words "geo," meaning "earth," and "dynamis," meaning "power" or "force." In contemporary use, it refers to the shortest path between two …

May 20, 2025 · Geodesic polyhedra are defined by the equilateral triangles of the primary face (i.e., the face of the underlying tetrahedron, octahedron, or icosahedron) laid out on a 60° grid …

A geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a “straight line” from a plane to a surface, on which it represents in some sense the shortest path between two points.

Generalization of straight line to a curved space timeIn general relativity, a geodesic generalizes the notion of a "straight line" to curved spacetime. Importantly, the world line of a particle free …