In a nutshell: In web maps, geographical coordinates are projected as if the Earth were a perfect sphere. The results are great for general use but not for high-precision applications. Mercator's Projection Cartographers have devised numerous projections, each having advantages and drawbacks. No one projection is ideal. Mercator's projection is based on a cylinder tangent … Continue reading Maps on the Web
Month: May 2015
Mercator’s Marvellous Map
Try to wrap a football in aluminium foil and you will discover that you have to crumple up the foil to make it fit snugly to the ball. In the same way, it is impossible to represent the curved surface of the Earth on a flat plane without some distortion. [See this week’s That’s Maths … Continue reading Mercator’s Marvellous Map
Eccentric Pizza Slices
Suppose six friends visit a pizzeria and have enough cash for just one big pizza. They need to divide it fairly into six equal pieces. That is simple: cut the pizza in the usual way into six equal sectors. But suppose there is meat in the centre of the pizza and some of the friends … Continue reading Eccentric Pizza Slices
Modelling the Markets
Mathematics now plays a fundamental role in modelling market movements [see this week’s That’s Maths column (TM067) or search for “thatsmaths” at irishtimes.com]. The state of the stock market displayed on a trader's screen is history. Big changes can occur in the fraction of a second that it takes for information to reach the screen. … Continue reading Modelling the Markets
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