Radio waves follow which path on the globe according to the material?

Radio waves follow which path on the globe according to the material?

• A. Great circle
• B. Rhumb line
• C. Straight line
• D. Ellipse

Answer: (A)

Radio waves traveling over the Earth's surface are described as following great-circle routes. A great circle is the path you get when you slice the Earth with a plane that passes through its center; the arc of that circle is the shortest distance between two points on the sphere. On a flat map this arc looks curved, but it’s the most efficient surface route for long-distance communications. A rhumb line maintains a constant bearing, which on a globe doesn’t represent the shortest path for long distances. A straight line would be through space or a chord through the Earth, not along the surface, and an ellipse isn’t the path used to describe global surface routes. So, the best description is a great-circle path.

Radio waves traveling over the Earth's surface are described as following great-circle routes. A great circle is the path you get when you slice the Earth with a plane that passes through its center; the arc of that circle is the shortest distance between two points on the sphere. On a flat map this arc looks curved, but it’s the most efficient surface route for long-distance communications. A rhumb line maintains a constant bearing, which on a globe doesn’t represent the shortest path for long distances. A straight line would be through space or a chord through the Earth, not along the surface, and an ellipse isn’t the path used to describe global surface routes. So, the best description is a great-circle path.