Gore (segment)

Sector of curved surface
title: "Gore (segment)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["cartography", "complex-surfaces", "geometric-shapes"] description: "Sector of curved surface" topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gore_(segment)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Sector of curved surface ::
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Waldseemüller-Globus.jpg" caption="The gores of [[Waldseemüller]]'s 1507 [[globe]] of the world, the first to use the name "America" (at right)"] ::
A gore is a sector of a curved surface or the curved surface that lies between two close lines of longitude on a globe and may be flattened to a plane surface with little distortion. The term has been extended to include similarly shaped pieces such as the panels of a hot-air balloon or parachute, or the triangular insert that allows extra movement in a garment (see Gore (fabrics)).
Examples
thumb|upright|left|Red hot-air balloon, made from gores of material ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Jettison_Petrol_Tanks-_the_Production_of_Jettison_Tanks_For_USE_by_the_United_States_Army_Air_Force_and_Royal_Air_Force,_Britain,_1944_D23460.jpg" caption="Single-use American WW II aircraft [[drop tank]]s, made of impregnated paper cylinders closed by gores formed into hemispheric shapes"] ::
- Globes of the Earth and the celestial sphere were first mass-produced by Johannes Schöner using a process of printing map details on 12 paper gores that were cut out then pasted to a sphere. This process is still often used. The gores are conveniently made to each have a width of 30 degrees of longitude matching the principal meridians from the South Pole and North Pole to the Equator.
- Parachutes and hot air balloons are made from gores of lightweight material. The gores are cut from flat material and stitched together to create various shapes.
- Pressure suit joints are often constructed of alternating gores and convolutes of material constrained by cables or straps along the sides of the joint, producing an accordion-like structure that flexes with nearly constant volume to minimize the mechanical work which must be done by the suit occupant.
- Corners in round duct-work can be created by welding or fixing gores of metal sheet to form a bend.
- Some designers use the stretched grid method to design gores that are cut out of weather-resistant fabric and then stitched together to form fabric structures.
References
References
- Chambers English Dictionary (1988)
- "Gore Definition - GIS Dictionary". support.esri.com.
- "Hot Air Balloon Manufacturer, Hot Air Airships, Balloon Repair Station". APEX Balloons.
- Tammie L. Dupuis. "Recreating 16th and 17th Century Clothing". The Renaissance Tailor.
- (2001). "The Origins and Technology of the Extravehicular Space Suit". American Astronautical Society.
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