Why does boats measure speed in knots and not mph/kmh?
In: Physics
On land, you can measure distances easily. In the sea or in the air, it is near impossible to measure on the basis of straight lines. Also, when you are flying, there is a third dimension, which can render distance meaningless. I can drop 1 Km straight down, I have not moved in reference to the ground but in absolute terms, I moved 1 Km.
This is the reason a measure in reference to the curvature of the earth is used to measure the distance travelled. Since the distances are measured in knots obviously it makes sense to measure the speed in the same terms.
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