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This can be done with calculus, or by using a line that is parallel to the axis of symmetry of the parabola and passes through the midpoint of the chord. The required point is where this line intersects the parabola. [e] Then, using the formula given in Distance from a point to a line, calculate the perpendicular distance from this point to the ...
For quadratic Bézier curves one can construct intermediate points Q 0 and Q 1 such that as t varies from 0 to 1: Point Q 0 (t) varies from P 0 to P 1 and describes a linear Bézier curve. Point Q 1 (t) varies from P 1 to P 2 and describes a linear Bézier curve. Point B(t) is interpolated linearly between Q 0 (t) to Q 1 (t) and describes a ...
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 if 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, called a parametric surface.
Low-order polynomials tend to be smooth and high order polynomial curves tend to be "lumpy". To define this more precisely, the maximum number of inflection points possible in a polynomial curve is n-2, where n is the order of the polynomial equation. An inflection point is a location on the curve where it switches from a positive radius to ...
"The spiral itself is not drawn: we see it as the locus of points where the circles are especially close to each other." [1] An osculating circle is a circle that best approximates the curvature of a curve at a specific point. It is tangent to the curve at that point and has the same curvature as the curve at that point. [2]
In geometry, an envelope of a planar family of curves is a curve that is tangent to each member of the family at some point, and these points of tangency together form the whole envelope. Classically, a point on the envelope can be thought of as the intersection of two " infinitesimally adjacent" curves, meaning the limit of intersections of ...
For a curve, it equals the radius of the circular arc which best approximates the curve at that point. For surfaces, the radius of curvature is the radius of a circle that best fits a normal section or combinations thereof. [1] [2] [3]
It can also be defined as a curve whose points are at a constant normal distance from a given curve. [1] These two definitions are not entirely equivalent as the latter assumes smoothness, whereas the former does not. [2] In computer-aided design the preferred term for a parallel curve is offset curve.