Most of the Office applications let you insert shapes. One shapes is a line; however, laying a straight line can be tricky. Test it for yourself. In any application, display the Drawing toolbar by ...

While writing the 3D imagery post we came across this oddity: If you draw a path in Google Earth, the line segments follow geodesics, which are parts of great circles. If you draw a polygon, the sides ...

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in ...