The bug on the sphere

Abstract

This paper examines the classic problem of a hypothetical two-dimensional inhabitant, a "bug on a sphere," attempting to determine the intrinsic curvature of its world. Following a method inspired by Feynman, the bug measures the circumference (C) and the radial distance (s) of a circle traced on the sphere's surface. The discovery that the measured circumference is less than the Euclidean prediction (2πs) is used to quantify the spatial distortion. By analyzing the limit of the difference between the actual and predicted radius as the measured radius approaches zero, the paper demonstrates the calculation of the Gaussian Curvature. The curvature of the sphere is analytically determined to be 1/R2, where R is the sphere's radius.

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Identifiers

DOI

10.5281/zenodo.17811936

Citations and references