The Longest Straight-Line Paths on Earth: Sailing or Driving Without Turning
Longest Straight Line Paths on Water or Land on the Earth (2018)
This paper tackles a deceptively simple question: what's the longest straight line you can travel on water without hitting land, and conversely, on land without hitting a major body of water? The problem is chaotic due to islands, lakes, and fractal coastlines. The authors present a branch-and-bound algorithm to compute both paths, offering a rigorous method for these extreme geographic optimizations.
In its basic form, this is an optimisation problem, rendered chaotic by the presence of islands and lakes, and indeed the fractal nature of the coasts.