Date: 04/26/99 at 21:24:27 From: Arm Sarkissian Subject: Maps I
have a math project due. The question is: Demonstrate the
mathematics of creating a flat map of a curved object. I am
totally stumped. Can anyone help me? Thanks. Date: 04/27/99 at
11:43:56 From: Doctor Rick Subject: Re: maps Hello, Arm, welcome
to Ask Dr. Math! Your topic is called "map projections." It's a
fascinating topic; there is a lot that you could say about this,
with some nice pictures too. I hope you enjoy learning about it.
The basic problem is this: You can't peel an orange and flatten
the peel without tearing it. To put it the other way, you can't
wrap aluminum foil around a tennis ball without crinkling the
foil. There is no one perfect way to make a flat map of the
round earth. People have come up with many ways to do the job;
each is good for some purposes and really bad for others. Here
is one Web site that contains details of lots of map
projections. Map Projection Overview Peter H. Dana, Dept. of
Geography, University of Texas