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Dead Reckoning |
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dead reckoning: see navigation navigation, science and technology of finding the position and directing the course of vessels and aircraft.
Early Navigational Techniques
In ancient times, mariners navigated by the guidance of the sun and stars and landmarks along the coast. ..... Click the link for more information. . dead reckoning a method of establishing one's position using the distance and direction travelled rather than astronomical observations dead reckoning [¦ded ′rek·ən·iŋ] (navigation) Determination of position of a craft by advancing a previous position to a new one on the basis of assumed distance and direction traveled. Dead Reckoning the continuous calculation of the elements of a vessel’s course, such as speed and direction, and the effects of external forces in order to determine the vessel’s coordinates without observation of orientation points on shore or of heavenly bodies. The accuracy of dead reckoning is sufficient for keeping a vessel on the course set and for ensuring navigational safety. The quantities used are the ship’s heading and speed and the drift vector. When dead reckoning is performed on a map, the true course, distances traveled, and the ship’s turning trajectory and drift are calculated and plotted. The use of automatic position plotters in such dead reckoning permits continuous calculation of the vessel’s position; when dead reckoning is done by hand, positions are calculated sequentially at discrete time intervals. Analytic techniques for dead reckoning require the use of calculators. Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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