Why do we use knots as a speed measurement unit for air and water travel?
In: Engineering
The nautical mile makes calculating distance traveled at sea comparatively easy. Mariners in the age of sail could figure their latitude and longitude well enough (eventually), which makes it straightforward to figure distance in degrees. The NM sets an easy conversion for that, defining a mile as being one arc minute latitude, so 60 nm to a degree.
That we still use it is as much to tradition as anything.
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