TRAVERSE

, in Gunnery, is the turning a piece of ordnance about, as upon a centre, to make it point in any particular direction.

Traverse

, in Fortification, denotes a trench with a little parapet, sometimes two, one on each side, to serve as a cover from the enemy that might come in flank.

Traverse

, in a wet foss, is a sort of gallery, made by throwing saucissons, joists, fascines, stones, earth, &c, into the foss, opposite the place where the miner is to be put, in order to fill up the ditch, and make a passage over it.

Traverse also denotes a wall of earth, or stone, raised across a work, to stop the shot from rolling along it.

Traverse also sometimes signifies any retrenchment, or line fortified with fascines, barrels or bags of earth, or gabions.

Traverse

, in Navigation, is the variation or alteration of a ship's course, occasioned by the shifting of the winds, or currents, &c; or a Traverse is a compound course, consisting of several different courses and distances.

Traverse Sailing, is the method of working, or calculating, Traverses or compound courses, so as to bring them into one, &c.

Traverse Sailing is used when a ship, having sailed from one port towards another, whose course and distance from the former is known, is by reason of contrary winds, or other accidents, forced to shift and sail upon several courses, which are to be brought into one course, to learn, after so many turnings and windings, the true course and distance made good, or the true point the ship is arrived at; and so to know what must be the new course and distance to the intended port.

To Construct a Traverse. Assume a convenient point or centre, to begin at, to represent the place sailed from. From that point as a centre, with the chord of 60°, describe a circle, which quarter with two perpendicular lines intersecting in the centre, one to represent the meridian, or north-and-south line, and the other the east-and-west line. From the intersections of these lines with the circle, set off upon the circumference, the arcs or degrees, taken from the chords, for the several courses that have been sailed upon, marking the points they reach to in the circumference with the figures for the order or number of the courses, 1, 2, 3, 4, &c; and from the centre draw lines to these several points in the circumference, or conceive them to be drawn. Upon the first of these lines lay off the first distance sailed; from the extremity of this distance draw a line parallel to the second radius, or line drawn in the circle, upon which lay off the 2d distance; through the end of this 2d distance draw a line parallel to the 3d radius, for the direction of the 3d course, and upon it lay off the 3d distance; and so on, through all the courses and distances. This done, draw a line from the centre to the end of the last distance, which will be the whole distance made good, and it will cut the circle in a point shewing the course made good. Lastly, draw a line from the end of the last distance to the point representing the port bound to, and it will shew the distance and course yet to be sailed, to gain that port.

To work a Traverse, or to compute it by the Traverse Table of Difference of Latitude and Departure.

Make a little tablet with 6 columns; the 1st for the courses, the 2d for the distances, the 3d for the northing, the 4th for the southing, the 5th for the easting, and the 6th for the westing; first entering the several courses and distances, in so many lines, in the 1st and 2d columns. Then, from the Traverse table, take out the quantity of the northings or southings, and eastings or westings, answering to the several given courses and distances, entering them on their corresponding lines, and in the proper columns of easting, westing, northing, and southing. This done, add up into one sum the numbers in each of these last four columns, which will give four sums shewing the whole quantity of easting, westing, northing, and southing made good; then take the difference between the whole easting and westing, and also between the northing and southing, so shall these shew the spaces made good in these two directions, viz, east or west, and north or south; which being compared with the given difference of latitude and departure, will shew those yet to be made good in sailing to the desired port, and thence the course and distance to it.

Example. A ship from the latitude 28° 32′ north, bound to a port distant 100 miles, and bearing NE by N, has run the following courses and distances, viz, 1st, NW by N dist. 20 miles; 2d, SW 40 miles; 3d, NE by E 60 miles; 4th, SE 55 miles; 5th, W by S 41 miles; 6th, ENE 66 miles. Required her present latitude, with the direct course and distance made good, and those for the port bound to.

The numbers being taken out of the Traverse table, and entered opposite the several courses and distances, the tablet will be as here follows:

Courses.Dist.North.South.East.West.
NW by N2016.6..11.1
SW40.28.3.28.3
NE by E6033.3.49.9.
SE55.38.938.9.
W by S41.8.0.40.2
ENE6625.3.61.0.
75.275.2149.879.6
75.279.6
070.2Dep.
| where the sums of the northings and southings, being both alike, 75.2, shews that the ship is come to the same parallel of latitude she set out from. And the difference between the sums of the eastings and westings, shews that the ship is 70.2 miles more to the eastward, that being the greater. Consequently the course made good is due east, and the distance is 70.2 miles.

But, by the Traverse table, the northing and easting to the proposed course NE by N, and distance 100,

are thus, viz, northing83.1and easting55.6
diff. from made good 0and easting70.2
give northing83.1and westing14.6
yet to be made good to arrive at the intended port; and therefore, by finding these in the Traverse table, answering to them are the intended course and distance, viz, distance 85, and course N 10° W.

The geometrical construction, according to the method before described, gives the figure as below: where A is the port set out from, B is the port bound to, C is the place come to, by sailing the several courses and distances Aa, ab, bc, cd, de, and eC; then CB is the distance to be sailed to arrive at the port B, and its course, or direction with the meridian, is nearly 10°, or the angle ACB, made with the east-and-west line, nearly 80°—Note, the radii from the centre to the several points in the circumference, are omitted, to prevent a confusion in the figure.

Traverse-Board, in a ship, a small round board, hanging up in the steerage, and pierced full of holes in lines shewing the points of the compass: upon which, by moving a small peg from hole to hole, the steersman keeps an account how many glasses, that is half hours, the ship steers upon any point.

Traverse-Table, in Navigation, is the same with a table of difference of latitude and departure; being the difference of latitude and departure ready calculated to every point, half point, quarter point, degree, &c, of the quadrant; and for every distance, up to 50 or 100 or 120, &c. Though it may serve for any greater distance whatever, by adding two or more together; or by taking their halves, thirds, fourths, &c, and then doubling, tripling, quadrupling, &c, the difference of latitude and departure found to those parts of the distance.

This table is one of the most necessary and useful things a navigator has occasion for; for by it he can readily reduce all his courses and distances, run in the space of 24 hours, into one course and distance; whence he finds the latitude he is in, and the departure from the meridian.

One of the best tables of this kind is in Robertson's Navigation, at the end of book 7, vol. 1. The distances are there carried to 120, for the sake of more easy subdivisions; and it is divided into two parts; the first containing the courses for every quarter point of the compass, and the 2d adapted to every 15′, or quarter of a degree, in the quadrant. See Traverse Sailing.

A specimen of such a Traverse Table is the following, otherwise called a Table of Difference of Latitude and Departure. The distances are placed at top and bottom of the columns, from 1 to 10; but may be extended to any quantity by multiplying the parts, and taking out at several times. The courses, or angles of a rightangled triangle, are in a column, on both sides, each in two parts, the one containing the even points and quarter points, and the other whole degrees, as far as to 45°, or half the quadrant, on the left-hand side, and the other half quadrant, from 45° to 90°, returned upwards from bottom to top on the right-hand side. The corresponding Difference of Latitude and Departure are in two columns below or above the distances, viz, below them when the course or angle is within 45°, or found on the left-hand side; but above them when between 45 and 90°, or found on the right-hand side.

The same table serves also to work all cases of rightangled triangles, for any other purposes. For example, Suppose a given course be 15°, and distance 35 miles, to find the corresponding difference of latitude and the departure: Or, in a right-angled triangle, given the hypotenuse 35, and one angle 15°, to find the two legs.

Here, the distance 3 in the table must be accounted 30, moving the decimal point proportionally or one place in the other numbers; and those numbers taken out at twice, viz, once from the columns under 3 for the 30, and the other from the columns under the distance 5. Thus, on the line of 15°, and under the

Dist.Lat.Dep.
30are28.978and7.765
5are4.830and1.294
theref. for 35are33.808and9.059
So that the other two legs of the triangle are 33.808 and 9.059.—If the course had been 75°, or the complement of the former, which is only the other angle of the same triangle, and which is found on the same line of the table, but on the right-hand side of it: then the numbers in the columns will be the same as before, and will give the same sums for the two legs of the triangle, only with the contrary names, as to Latitude and Departure, which change places. |
A Table of the Difference of Latitude and Departure, for Degrees and Quarter Points.
CourseDist. 1Dist. 2Dist. 3.Dist. 4Dist. 5Course
Pts.D.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.D.Pts.
10.99980.01751.99970.03492.99950.05243.99940.06984.99920.087389
20.99940.03491.99880.06982.99820.10473.99760.13964.99700.174588
0 1/40.99880.04911.99760.09812.99640.14723.99520.19634.99400.24537 3/4
30.99860.05231.99730.10472.99590.15703.99450.20934.99310.261787
40.99760.06981.99510.13952.99270.20933.99030.27904.98780.348886
50.99620.08721.99240.17432.98860.26153.98480.34864.98100.435885
0 1/20.99520.09801.99040.19602.98560.29403.98070.39214.97590.49017 1/2
60.99450.10451.98900.20912.98360.31363.97810.41814.97260.522684
70.99250.12191.98510.24372.97760.36563.97020.48754.96270.609383
80.99030.13921.98050.27832.97080.41753.96110.55674.95130.695982
0 3/40.98920.14671.97840.29352.96750.44023.95670.58694.94590.73377 1/4
90.98770.15641.97540.31292.96310.46933.95080.62574.93840.782281
100.98480.17361.96960.34732.95440.52093.93920.69464.92400.868280
110.98160.19081.96330.38162.94490.57243.92650.76324.90810.954079
10.98080.19511.96160.39022.94240.58533.92310.78044.90390.97547
120.97810.20791.95630.41582.93440.62373.91260.83164.89071.039678
130.97440.22501.94870.44992.92310.67493.89750.89984.87181.124877
140.97030.24191.94060.48382.91080.72583.88120.96774.85151.209676
1 1/40.97000.24301.94010.48602.91010.72893.88010.97194.85021.21496 3/4
150.96590.25881.93190.51762.89780.77653.86371.03534.82961.294175
160.96130.27561.92250.55132.88380.82693.84501.10254.80631.378274
1 1/20.95690.29031.91390.58062.87080.82093.82781.16114.78471.45146 1/2
170.95630.29241.91260.58472.86890.87713.82521.16954.78151.461973
180.95110.30901.90210.61802.85320.92713.80421.23614.75531.545172
190.94550.32561.89100.65112.83660.97673.78211.30234.72761.627871
1 3/40.94150.33691.88310.67382.82461.01073.76621.34764.70771.68446 1/4
200.93970.34201.87940.68402.81911.02613.75881.36814.69851.710170
210.93360.35841.86720.71672.80071.07513.73431.43354.66791.791869
220.92720.37461.85440.74922.78161.12383.70871.49844.63591.873068
20.92390.38271.84780.76542.77161.14803.69551.53074.61941.91346
230.92050.39071.84100.78152.76151.17223.68201.56294.60251.953767
240.91350.40671.82700.81352.74061.22023.65421.62694.56772.033766
250.90630.42261.81260.84522.71891.26793.62521.69054.53152.113165
2 1/40.90400.42761.80800.85512.71201.28273.61601.71024.51992.13785 1/4
260.89880.43841.79760.87672.69641.31513.59521.75354.49402.191964
270.89100.45401.78200.90802.67301.36203.56401.81604.45502.269963
280.88290.46951.76590.93892.64881.40843.53181.87794.41472.347462
2 1/20.88190.47141.76380.94282.64581.41423.52771.88504.40962.35705 1/2
290.87460.48481.74920.96962.62391.45443.49851.93924.37312.424061
300.86600.50001.73201.00002.59811.50003.46412.00004.33012.500060
2 3/40.85770.51411.71551.02822.57321.54233.43092.05644.28862.57055 1/4
310.85720.51501.71431.03012.57151.54513.42872.06024.28582.575259
320.84800.52991.69611.05982.54411.58963.39222.11974.24022.649658
330.83870.54461.67731.08932.51601.63393.35472.17864.19342.723257
30.83150.55561.66291.11112.49441.66673.32592.22234.15732.77785
340.82900.55921.65811.11842.48711.67763.31622.23684.14522.796056
350.81920.57361.63831.14722.45751.72073.27662.29434.09582.867955
360.80900.58781.61801.17562.42711.76343.23612.35114.04512.938954
3 1/40.80320.59571.60641.19142.40961.78713.21282.38284.01602.97854 3/4
370.79860.60181.59731.20362.39591.80543.19452.40733.99323.009153
380.78800.61571.57601.23132.36401.84703.15202.46263.94013.078352
390.77710.62931.55431.25862.33141.88803.10862.51733.88573.146651
3 1/20.77300.63441.54601.26882.31901.90323.09202.53763.86503.17204 1/2
400.76600.64281.53211.28562.29811.92843.06422.57123.83023.213950
410.75470.65611.50941.31212.26411.96823.01882.62423.77363.280349
420.74310.66911.48031.33832.22942.00742.97262.67653.71573.345748
3 3/40.74100.67161.48191.34312.22292.01472.96382.68623.70483.35784 1/4
430.73140.68201.46281.36402.19412.04602.92542.72803.65683.410047
440.71930.69471.43871.38942.15802.08402.87742.77863.59673.473346
4450.70710.70711.41421.41422.12132.12132.82842.82843.53553.5355454
Pts.Deg.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Deg.Pts.
Dist. 1Dist. 2Dist. 3Dist. 4Dist. 5
|
Table of the Difference of Latitude and Departure, for Degrees and Quarter Points.
CourseDist. 6Dist. 7Dist. 8.Dist. 9Dist. 10Course
Pts.D.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.D.Pts.
15.99910.10476.99890.12227.99880.13968.99860.15719.99850.174589
25.99630.20946.99570.24437.99510.27928.99450.31419.99390.349088
0 3/45.99280.29446.99160.34357.99040.39258.98920.44169.98800.49077 3/4
35.99180.31406.99040.36647.98900.41878.98770.47109.98630.523487
45.98540.41856.98290.48837.98050.55808.97810.62789.97560.697686
55.97720.52296.97340.61017.96960.69728.96580.78449.96190.871685
0 1/25.97110.58816.96630.68617.96150.78418.95670.88229.95180.98027 1/2
65.96710.62726.96170.73177.95620.83628.95070.94089.94521.045384
75.95530.73126.94780.85317.94040.97508.93291.09689.92551.218783
85.94160.83506.93190.97427.92211.11348.91241 25269.90271.391782
0 3/45.93510.88046.92421.02717.91341.17388.90261.32069.89181.46747 1/4
95.92610.93866.91381.09507.90151.25158.88921.40799.87691.564381
105.90881.04196.89371.21557.87851.38928.86331.56289.84811.736580
115.88981.14496.87141.33577.85301.52658.83461.71739.81651.908179
15.88471.17056.86551.36567.84631.56078.82711.75589.80791.95097
125.86891.24756 84701.45547.82521.66338.80331.87129.78152.079178
135.84621.34976.82061.57467.79501.79968.76932.02469.74372.249577
145.82181.45156.79211.69357.76241.93548.73272.17739.70302.419276
1 3/45.82021.45796.79021.70097.76021.94388.73032.18689.70032.42986 3/4
155.79561.55296.76151.81177.72742.07068.69332.32049.65932.588275
165.76761.65386.72881.92957.69012.20518.65132.48079.61202.756274
1 1/25.74161.74176.69862.03207.65552.32238.61252.61269.56942.90286 1/2
175.73781.75426.69412.04667.65042.33908.60672.63139.56302.923773
185.70631.85416.65742.16317.60842.47218.55952.78129.51063.090272
195.67311.95346.61862.27907.56422.60458.50972.93019.45523.255771
1 3/45.64932.02136.59082.35827.53242.69518.47393.03209.41543.36896 1/4
205.63822.05216.57792.39417.51752.73628.45723.07829.39693.420270
215.60152.15026.53512.50867.46862.86698.40223.22539.33583.583769
225.56312.24766.49032.62227.41752.99698.34473.37159.27183.746168
25.54332.29616.46722.67887.39103.06158.31493.44419.23883.82686
235.52302.34446.44352.73517.36403.12588.28453.51669.20503.907567
245.48132.44046.39482.84727.30843.25398.22193.66069.13554.067466
255.43782.53576.34422.95837.25053.38098.15683.80369.06314.226265
2 1/45.42392.56536.32792.99297.23193.42048.13593.84809.03994.27565 3/4
265.39282.63026.29163.06867.19043.50708.08913.94538.98794.383764
275.34602.72396.23703.17797.12803.63198.01914.08598.91014.539963
285.29772.81686.18063.28637.06363.75587.94654.22528.82954.694762
2 1/25.29152.82846.17343.29987.05543.77127.93734.24268.81924.71405 1/2
295.24772.90896.12233.39376.99703.37857.87164.36338.74624.848161
305.19613.00006.06223.50006.92824.00007.79424.50008.66035.000060
2 3/45.14643.08466.00413.59876.86184.11287.71964.62698.57735.14105 1/4
315.14303.09026.00023.60526.85734.12037.71454.63538.57175.150459
325.08833.17955.93633.70946.78434.23947.63244.70938.48055.299258
335.03203.26785.87073.81256.70944.35717.54804.90188.38675.446457
34.98883.33345.82033.88906.65184.44467.48325.00018.31475.55575
344.97423.35525.80333.91446.63234.47357.46135.03278.29045.591956
354.91493.44155.73414.01506.55324.58807.37245.16228.19155.735855
364.85413.52675.66314.11456.47214.70237.28125.29018.09025.877954
3 1/44.81923.57425.62244.16996.42574.76567.22895.36138.03215.95704 3/4
374.79183.61095.59044.21276.38914.81457.18775.41637.98646.018253
384.72813.69405.51614.30966.30414.92537.09215.54097.88016.156052
394.66293.77595.44004.40526.21 25.03466.99435.66397.77156.293251
3 1/24.63813.80645.41114.44086.18415.07516.95715.70957.73016.34394 1/2
404.59633.85675.36234.49956.12845.14236.89445.78517.66046.427950
414.52833.93635.28304.59246.03775.24856.79245.90457.54716.560649
424.45894.01485.20204.68395.94525.35306.68836.02227.43146.691348
3 3/44.44574.02945.18674.70095.92765.37256.66806.04407.40956.71564 1/4
434.38814.09205.11954.77405.85085.45606.58226.13807.31356.820047
444.31604.16795.03544.86265.75475.55736.47416.25197.19346.946646
4454.24264.24264.94974.94975.65095.65696.36406.36407.07117.0711454
Pts.Deg.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Dep.Lat.Deg.Pts.
Dist. 6Dist. 7Dist. 8Dist. 9Dist. 10
|

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ABCDEFGHKLMNOPQRSTWXYZABCEGLMN

Entry taken from A Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary, by Charles Hutton, 1796.

This text has been generated using commercial OCR software, and there are still many problems; it is slowly getting better over time. Please don't reuse the content (e.g. do not post to wikipedia) without asking liam at holoweb dot net first (mention the colour of your socks in the mail), because I am still working on fixing errors. Thanks!

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TRANSOM
TRANSPARENCY
TRANSPOSITION
TRAPEZIUM
TRAPEZOID
* TRAVERSE
TREBLE
TRENCHES
TREPIDATION
TRET
TRIANGLE