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A concave mirror with light rays Center of curvature. In geometry, the center of curvature of a curve is a point located at a distance from the curve equal to the radius of curvature lying on the curve normal vector. It is the point at infinity if the curvature is zero. The osculating circle to the curve is centered at the centre of curvature.
Radius of curvature and center of curvature. In differential geometry, the radius of curvature, R, is the reciprocal of the curvature. 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 ...
A closely related notion of curvature comes from gauge theory in physics, where the curvature represents a field and a vector potential for the field is a quantity that is in general path-dependent: it may change if an observer moves around a loop. Two more generalizations of curvature are the scalar curvature and Ricci curvature. In a curved ...
Architects, engineers, and contractors use these equations to create "flattened" arcs that are used in curved walls, arched ceilings, bridges, and numerous other applications. The sagitta also has uses in physics where it is used, along with chord length, to calculate the radius of curvature of an accelerated particle.
Crest vertical curves are those that have a tangent slope at the end of the curve that is lower than that of the beginning of the curve. When driving on a crest curve, the road appears as a hill, with the vehicle first going uphill before reaching the top of the curve and continuing downhill. The profile also affects road drainage.
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] The osculating circle provides a way to understand the local behavior of a curve and is commonly used in differential geometry and calculus.
The relationship between speed and tilt can be calculated mathematically. We start with the formula for a balancing centripetal force: θ is the angle by which the train is tilted due to the cant, r is the curve radius in meters, v is the speed in meters per second, and g is the standard gravity, approximately equal to 9.81 m/s²:
The second equation, called the Codazzi equation or Codazzi-Mainardi equation, states that the covariant derivative of the second fundamental form is fully symmetric. It is named for Gaspare Mainardi (1856) and Delfino Codazzi (1868–1869), who independently derived the result, [ 3 ] although it was discovered earlier by Karl Mikhailovich ...