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Message: <blockquote data-quote="aramis erak" data-source="post: 6443963" data-attributes="member: 6779310">The difference in practical terms...VisibilityOn a ring: side to side visibility is about 65 miles (the visibility of clear air at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_conditions_for_temperature_and_pressure" target="_blank">STP</a>)On a torus: side to side visibility is restricted by the curvature. If the torus is 50 miles tube diameter, then an object at surface is visible for roughly 1200' (using d=√(2Dh + h²)); calculate twice (once for item, once for observer) for taller objects. If the torus is 250 miles tube diameter, it's about 4000'...On the inside of the tube of the torus itself,  it gets even weirder... side to side visibility is around 60 miles or the distance to the side, whichever is shorter. Distance along the torus tube, however, now is constrained by the maximum of 2√(2R₁R₂ + R₂²) with R₁ being the inside diameter of the torus, and R₂ being the tube radius...Mapping & navigationRing: there are edges. The edges do not meet. it's easier to mapTorus: if you go towards the side, eventually you are upside down relative to where you started, and if you continue, you wind up back  where you began. You can approximate the map with two rows of diamonds...◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ Left side; up is outside, down is inside◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊ right side, up is inside, down is outside.Surface areaA torus has more surface area for a given diameter.</blockquote>

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