tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Dec 14 08:26:49 1994

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Re: negative angle

My humble submission to the high and holy.
COMMENTARY Follows: (sorry for full inclusion, but I didn't dare delete any
of this):

>Okay, THIS is why I make no presumptions as to what "be at a
>negative angle" means:
>
>I can only interpret "negative" to be a reference to some form
>of measurement of an angle. We don't know how Klingons measure
>angles. Could it mean "downward" in the sense of 360 degrees
>measured up from forward, counting up to 180 degrees and there
>meeting a negative scale starting at the same point, counting
>from zero to -180 degrees? If so, could it also mean "toward
>the left", assuming a horizontal measurement from dead ahead
>counting 0 to 180 degrees toward the right and 0 to -180
>degrees toward the left?
>
>Or maybe forward is not the vector of origin. Maybe downward
>is, and maybe there is some kind of compass reading. Perhaps it
>is like Federation coordinate readings with the ray of origin
>going from the ship to the center of the nearest galaxy.
>
>In short, we have no context for this word and the definition
>is far too vague to be useful. So far as I am concerned, it
>merely uses up a potential letter combination and a couple
>lines in TKD and is otherwise useless.
>
>charghwI'

Spacial (and sub-oceanic) navigation requires 3 dimentional thinking along
an x, y and z axis. Conventional thinking would surmise that a negative
angle would be along the y axis as in conventional terran navigation, the x
(horizontal) is measured clockwise from 0 (directly in front, ahead), 90
(right side, starboard), 180 (rear) and 270 (left side, port). The verticle
direction (y) would go from 0 (even with the horizon directly in front), 90
(directly above your head) to 180 (at the horizon, directly behind). The
negative declination now comes into effect as you would travel down from
the "horizon". A neg. 10 degrees would be infront of you, down 10 degrees.
A neg. 90, under your feet, etc. I can't explain the z axis though (so
why'd I bring it up?). I remember a line from "The Wrath of Kahn" when Kirk
realized that Kahn thought 2-D so he had Sulu set a Negative Z course to
get under Kahn's ship.

I agree that there needs to be some work done on "Degrees", "Minutes", and
"Seconds" as well as compass points. Perhaps a good temporary nomenclature
would be to use the clock directions (as in he's on your 3 o'clock or at
your 11 o'clock high)??

And a DaH HIHoH Merry Christmas to y'all too. {{;-)

vlta'pu'be' !!!
Steve Weaver     [email protected]

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