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Whewell Equation
The Whewell equation of a plane curve is an equation that relates the tangential angle () with arc length (), where the tangential angle is the angle between the tangent to the curve at some point and the -axis, and the arc length is the distance along the curve from a fixed point. These quantities do not depend on the coordinate system used except for the choice of the direction of the -axis, so this is an intrinsic equation of the curve, or, less precisely, ''the'' intrinsic equation. If one curve is obtained from another curve by translation then their Whewell equations will be the same. When the relation is a function, so that tangential angle is given as a function of arc length, certain properties become easy to manipulate. In particular, the derivative of the tangential angle with respect to arc length is equal to the curvature. Thus, taking the derivative of the Whewell equation yields a Cesàro equation for the same curve. The concept is named after William Whewell, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intrinsic Coordinates (Whewell Equation)
In geometry, an intrinsic equation of a curve is an equation that defines the curve using a relation between the curve's intrinsic properties, that is, properties that do not depend on the location and possibly the orientation of the curve. Therefore an intrinsic equation defines the shape of the curve without specifying its position relative to an arbitrarily defined coordinate system. The intrinsic quantities used most often are arc length s , tangential angle \theta , curvature \kappa or radius of curvature, and, for 3-dimensional curves, torsion \tau . Specifically: * The natural equation is the curve given by its curvature and torsion. * The Whewell equation is obtained as a relation between arc length and tangential angle. * The Cesàro equation In geometry, the Cesàro equation of a plane curve is an equation relating the curvature () at a point of the curve to the arc length () from the start of the curve to the given point. It may also be given as an equation relati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge Philosophical Society
The Cambridge Philosophical Society (CPS) is a scientific society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of law, theology and medicine. The society was granted a royal charter by King William IV in 1832. The society is governed by an elected council of senior academics, which is chaired by the Society's President, according to a set of statutes. The society has published several scientific journals, including ''Biological Reviews'' (established 1926) and '' Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' (formerly entitled ''Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'', published since 1843). ''Transactions of the Cambridge Philosophical Society'' was published between 1821–1928, but was then discontinued. History The society was founded in 1819 by John Stevens Henslow, Adam Sedgwick and Edward Clarke, is Cambridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tautochrone
A tautochrone curve or isochrone curve () is the curve for which the time taken by an object sliding without friction in uniform gravity to its lowest point is independent of its starting point on the curve. The curve is a cycloid, and the time is equal to Pi, π times the square root of the radius of the circle which generates the cycloid, over the Gravitational acceleration, acceleration of gravity. The tautochrone curve is related to the brachistochrone curve, which is also a cycloid. The tautochrone problem The tautochrone problem, the attempt to identify this curve, was solved by Christiaan Huygens in 1659. He proved geometrically in his ''Horologium Oscillatorium'', originally published in 1673, that the curve is a cycloid. The cycloid is given by a point on a circle of radius r tracing a curve as the circle rolls along the x axis, as: \begin x &= r(\theta - \sin \theta) \\ y &= r(1 - \cos \theta), \end Huygens also proved that the time of descent is equal to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catenary
In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficially similar in appearance to a parabola, which it is not. The curve appears in the design of certain types of Catenary arch, arches and as a cross section of the catenoid—the shape assumed by a soap film bounded by two parallel circular rings. The catenary is also called the alysoid, chainette,#MathWorld, MathWorld or, particularly in the materials sciences, an example of a funicular curve, funicular. Rope statics describes catenaries in a classic statics problem involving a hanging rope. Mathematically, the catenary curve is the Graph of a function, graph of the hyperbolic cosine function. The surface of revolution of the catenary curve, the catenoid, is a minimal surface, specifically a minimal surface of revolution. A ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Logarithmic Spiral
A logarithmic spiral, equiangular spiral, or growth spiral is a self-similarity, self-similar spiral curve that often appears in nature. The first to describe a logarithmic spiral was Albrecht Dürer (1525) who called it an "eternal line" ("ewige Linie"). More than a century later, the curve was discussed by René Descartes, Descartes (1638), and later extensively investigated by Jacob Bernoulli, who called it ''Spira mirabilis'', "the marvelous spiral". The logarithmic spiral is distinct from the Archimedean spiral in that the distances between the turnings of a logarithmic spiral increase in a geometric progression, whereas for an Archimedean spiral these distances are constant. Definition In polar coordinates (r, \varphi) the logarithmic spiral can be written as r = ae^,\quad \varphi \in \R, or \varphi = \frac \ln \frac, with e (mathematical constant), e being the base of natural logarithms, and a > 0, k\ne 0 being real constants. In Cartesian coordinates The logarithmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all point (geometry), points in a plane (mathematics), plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the Centre (geometry), centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. The length of a line segment connecting two points on the circle and passing through the centre is called the diameter. A circle bounds a region of the plane called a Disk (mathematics), disc. The circle has been known since before the beginning of recorded history. Natural circles are common, such as the full moon or a slice of round fruit. The circle is the basis for the wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern machinery possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry, astronomy and calculus. Terminology * Annulus (mathematics), Annulus: a ring-shaped object, the region bounded by two concentric circles. * Circular arc, Arc: any Connected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Line (mathematics)
In geometry, a straight line, usually abbreviated line, is an infinitely long object with no width, depth, or curvature, an idealization of such physical objects as a straightedge, a taut string, or a ray of light. Lines are spaces of dimension one, which may be embedded in spaces of dimension two, three, or higher. The word ''line'' may also refer, in everyday life, to a line segment, which is a part of a line delimited by two points (its ''endpoints''). Euclid's ''Elements'' defines a straight line as a "breadthless length" that "lies evenly with respect to the points on itself", and introduced several postulates as basic unprovable properties on which the rest of geometry was established. ''Euclidean line'' and ''Euclidean geometry'' are terms introduced to avoid confusion with generalizations introduced since the end of the 19th century, such as non-Euclidean, projective, and affine geometry. Properties In the Greek deductive geometry of Euclid's ''Elements'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parametric Curve
In mathematics, a parametric equation expresses several quantities, such as the coordinates of a point (mathematics), point, as Function (mathematics), functions of one or several variable (mathematics), variables called parameters. In the case of a single parameter, parametric equations are commonly used to express the trajectory of a moving point, in which case, the parameter is often, but not necessarily, time, and the point describes a curve, called a parametric curve. In the case of two parameters, the point describes a Surface (mathematics), surface, called a parametric surface. In all cases, the equations are collectively called a parametric representation, or parametric system, or parameterization (also spelled parametrization, parametrisation) of the object. For example, the equations \begin x &= \cos t \\ y &= \sin t \end form a parametric representation of the unit circle, where is the parameter: A point is on the unit circle if and only if there is a value of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Whewell
William Whewell ( ; 24 May 17946 March 1866) was an English polymath. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. In his time as a student there, he achieved distinction in both poetry and mathematics. The breadth of Whewell's endeavours is his most remarkable feature. In a time of increasing specialisation, Whewell belonged in an earlier era when natural philosophers investigated widely. He published work in mechanics, physics, geology, astronomy, and economics, while also composing poetry, writing a Bridgewater Treatise, translating the works of Goethe, and writing sermons and Theology, theological tracts. In mathematics, Whewell introduced what is now called the Whewell equation, defining the shape of a curve without reference to an arbitrarily chosen coordinate system. He also organized thousands of volunteers internationally to study ocean tides, in what is now considered one of the first citizen science projects. He received the Royal Medal for this work in 1837. One ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plane Curve
In mathematics, a plane curve is a curve in a plane that may be a Euclidean plane, an affine plane or a projective plane. The most frequently studied cases are smooth plane curves (including piecewise smooth plane curves), and algebraic plane curves. Plane curves also include the Jordan curves (curves that enclose a region of the plane but need not be smooth) and the graphs of continuous functions. Symbolic representation A plane curve can often be represented in Cartesian coordinates by an implicit equation of the form f(x,y)=0 for some specific function ''f''. If this equation can be solved explicitly for ''y'' or ''x'' – that is, rewritten as y=g(x) or x=h(y) for specific function ''g'' or ''h'' – then this provides an alternative, explicit, form of the representation. A plane curve can also often be represented in Cartesian coordinates by a parametric equation of the form (x,y)=(x(t), y(t)) for specific functions x(t) and y(t). Plane curves can sometimes also be repr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cesàro Equation
In geometry, the Cesàro equation of a plane curve is an equation relating the curvature () at a point of the curve to the arc length () from the start of the curve to the given point. It may also be given as an equation relating the radius of curvature () to arc length. (These are equivalent because .) Two congruent curves will have the same Cesàro equation. Cesàro equations are named after Ernesto Cesàro. Log-aesthetic curves The family of log-aesthetic curves is determined in the general (\alpha \ne 0) case by the following intrinsic equation: R(s)^\alpha = c_0s + c_1 This is equivalent to the following explicit formula for curvature: \kappa(s) = (c_0s+c_1)^ Further, the c_1 constant above represents simple re-parametrization of the arc length parameter, while c_0 is equivalent to uniform scaling, so log-aesthetic curves are fully characterized by the \alpha parameter. In the special case of \alpha=0, the log-aesthetic curve becomes Nielsen's spiral, with the following ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curvature
In mathematics, curvature is any of several strongly related concepts in geometry that intuitively measure the amount by which a curve deviates from being a straight line or by which a surface deviates from being a plane. If a curve or surface is contained in a larger space, curvature can be defined ''extrinsically'' relative to the ambient space. Curvature of Riemannian manifolds of dimension at least two can be defined ''intrinsically'' without reference to a larger space. For curves, the canonical example is that of a circle, which has a curvature equal to the reciprocal of its radius. Smaller circles bend more sharply, and hence have higher curvature. The curvature ''at a point'' of a differentiable curve is the curvature of its osculating circle — that is, the circle that best approximates the curve near this point. The curvature of a straight line is zero. In contrast to the tangent, which is a vector quantity, the curvature at a point is typically a scalar q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
