The parallels of latitude and the meridians of longitude are all straight lines on the
Mercator projection. That's why Greenland looks bigger than South America.
That's true of the Mercator projection, among others.
Two straight lines that remain equal distance apart are parallel lines.
It will roll around. To make a flat map from a round globe, a projection is used. In making the projection not all measures can be preserved and so distances will be stretched for some areas, and straight lines on the projection will correspond to curved lines on the globe. There are different projections that can be used which try to minimise the effect on different measures.
A polygon.
an intersection
the mercator projection lines are straight but the robinsons are curved
The Mercator projection preserves straight lines, making it useful for navigation. It also shows true direction, making it valuable for sailors and pilots. Additionally, it accurately represents shapes and angles near the equator.
The ability of the Mercator projection to allow straight and constant course lines. Or longitude and latitude lines.
The Mercator projection does that.
cylindrical
That's true of the Mercator projection, among others.
The Mercator projection is a cylindrical projection, where the meridians are equally spaced vertical lines and the parallels are horizontal lines parallel to the equator. It distorts the size of land masses as they get farther from the equator, making areas like Greenland appear much larger than they actually are.
They go straight up and down in parallel. (This is as opposed to a Robinson Projection where they bow out and away from the Prime Meridian.)
'po';op'[ 'po';/l.;;
The Mercator projection has straight meridians and parallels that intersect at right angles. Scale is true at the equator or at two standard parallels equidistant from the equator. The projection is often used for marine navigation because all straight lines on the map are lines of constant azimuth.
The Mercator projection
Mercator projection represents rhumb lines, which are useful for navigation. It makes the areas near the poles appear very large.