Just read somewhere that the shortest path between two locations is an arc and not a straight line! eli5 how an arc is the shortest path for planes.

Question

Just read somewhere that the shortest path between two locations is an arc and not a straight line! eli5 how an arc is the shortest path for planes.

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Answer 1

there’s no such thing as a straight line on a map. Any straight line on a map, if attempted in real life, would actually have to cut through the middle of the planet then come out on the other side.

So it has to be an arc since a straight line is impossible. Planes can’t plow through the earth’s mantle, they have to fly in an arc across the surface. Think of a fly going across the surface of a basketball.