Science · 6 pages · 12 min
How a map projection must distort something
No flat map keeps every geometric truth of a sphere, so each projection picks a sacrifice.
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From the opening
A map projection must distort something because the Earth, a curved surface, cannot be spread onto a plane without stretching or compressing. The projection is the chosen rule for that spreading, and each rule keeps some properties by giving others up. The opening covers why a sphere will not lie flat, keeping area or keeping angles, and what Tissot's ellipse shows.
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Inside
- Why a sphere will not lie flat
- Keeping area or keeping angles
- What Tissot's ellipse shows
- Why a city plan can escape
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Gauss's Theorema Egregium and surface curvature
- Tissot's indicatrix of map distortion