Is there such a thing as a nautical kilometre?

Question

Is there such a thing as a nautical kilometre?

Answer 1

No. I think but am not sure that a nautical miles is one minute of longitude at the equator. It is well understood and the EU have not yet got round to doing something logical but incomprehensible on this one Perhaps one of our seafaring friends will correct me  on all counts

Answer 2

Not in space Joan ...................... ♥ LOL

Answer 3

its called fathoms

Answer 4

Yes. It's basically the metric system equivalent of a nautical mile, which is based on the circumference of the Earth. If you were to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. Divide the circle has 360 degrees. And, you could then divide a degree into 60 minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all nations for air and sea travel.  A nautical mile is 1,852 meters, or 1.852 kilometers.

Answer 5

maybe not ´coz there`s no such thing as kilo or pounds................of course it exist,if there`s a mile then there`s a kilometre and if there`s a metre then there`s also a foot........................

Answer 6

No there is not. Nautical miles are the international standard for measuring distance on both land and sea. It is 1.15 times larger then a "statute mile" (5280 vs 6072ft). A nautical mile is the same length no matter where you are on the globe, it does not change as one said. It is equal to one minute of longitude ONLY at the equator and is equal to one minute of latitude anywhere.That does not mean that some people don't use statute miles or kilometers when measuring distance,

Answer 7

i'll ask  captain  birds eye   lol

Answer 8

Hi Joan,

I disagree with some of your answerers.  There is NO measurement called a nautical kilometre.  There IS a 'nautical mile' which is not the same as a land mile and merely used on the sea.  This measurement is the origin of the word 'knot' which is a velocity measurement used solely for sea-going vessels.

However many countries and sailing masters DO use kilometres as their primary source of measurements, but in this case they are merely using the standard kilometre measurement at sea because they have been brought up with the metric system and feel more comfortable when using it.

The nautical mile was created many years ago as a distance which is divisible into the circumference of the earth and the resultant length is still favoured by most sailors.  The metre was developed (by Napoleon's army surveyors, if legend tells it correctly) but was developed as a land measurement  and has been used on continental Europe ever since.

Hope that helps.

BobSpain

Answer 9

[USMA:24370] Re: The Measure of All Things -Earth

2003/01/05. Accordingly, considering the Earth to be a hypothetical sphere of radius 6371 km, the circumference would work to 40030.15926869 km (24873.587796448 miles) and 1/36000TH of the circle to define the nautical kilometre as: '1/100TH of one degree' on earth circumference works to 1.11194886884 km -- Brij Bhushan Vij

there you are - that's clearer now, isn't it?!

Answer 10

I wouldnt know Joan....Im a Super Hero...not a sailor....lol

Answer 11

a mile and a nautical mile are different

a kilometer no matter how you cut it is the same.

hope that helps.

Answer 12

boy, you got some weird answers, especially the guy who says he's a navigator....

a kilometer is a kilometer is a kilometer whether its measuring distance over land or water.

a nautical mile came about because  "land miles" differed from place to place way back no so long ago when there was an English mile and a French mile and a Spanish mile.very confusing when you wanted to know how many miles away that dangerous reef was.

A nautical mile is based on the circumference of the Earth, either the distance around the Equator or the distance around from pole to pole along any longitude.

Its equal to one minute of latitude.

60 minutes in a degree

360 degrees in a circle.

60 x 360 = 21,600 nautical miles around the world.

and I believe the kilometer is 1/40,000 of the Earth's circumference, but , being an American I am proudly ignorant of the metric system

Answer 13

have you been on the drink Joan????

Answer 14

A kilometre is a fixed distance, so it can be used for nautical measurements, though the more common measurement is a nautical mile, which is not a fixed distance and depends where you are on the globe.

A true nautical mile is defined as one minute of latitude and differs in length from the equator to the poles (because the earth is approximately an oblate spheroid - i.e. flattened at the poles)

<EDIT>

Lambchop: You aren't quite correct, a nautical mile is a minute of latitide not longitude! Your bisection of the earth is 90 degrees out, you need a polar bisection, not equatorial.

BTW for all you folk who doubt that there is a difference in length of a nautical mile from pole to equator.... here are the figures for 1  degree (60 nautical miles!) at varying latitudes...

Lat     N/S Rad.Curv   Actual distance

0°   6335.44 km   110.574 km

15° 6339.70 km 110.649 km

30° 6351.38 km 110.852 km

45° 6367.38 km 111.132 km

60° 6383.45 km 111.412 km

75° 6395.26 km 111.618 km

90° 6399.59 km 111.694 km

The middle figure is the North to South Radius of curvature if you are interested.... there's quite a comprehensive explanation here... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latitude

It's a shame people open their mouths (or type) without actually knowing the facts! Hey ho....

Answer 15

yes sure is

and no we don't use fathoms

Answer 16

its the same in air water and land.speed at sea is the knot.

Answer 17

why would there be?

do metric boaters not use fathoms?