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For a surface defined in 3D space, the mean curvature is related to a unit normal of the surface: = ^ where the normal chosen affects the sign of the curvature. The sign of the curvature depends on the choice of normal: the curvature is positive if the surface curves "towards" the normal.
is equal to one. This parametrization gives the same value for the curvature, as it amounts to division by r 3 in both the numerator and the denominator in the preceding formula. The same circle can also be defined by the implicit equation F(x, y) = 0 with F(x, y) = x 2 + y 2 – r 2. Then, the formula for the curvature in this case gives
The product k 1 k 2 of the two principal curvatures is the Gaussian curvature, K, and the average (k 1 + k 2)/2 is the mean curvature, H. If at least one of the principal curvatures is zero at every point, then the Gaussian curvature will be 0 and the surface is a developable surface. For a minimal surface, the mean curvature is zero at every ...
A plane curve with non-vanishing curvature has zero torsion at all points. Conversely, if the torsion of a regular curve with non-vanishing curvature is identically zero, then this curve belongs to a fixed plane. The curvature and the torsion of a helix are constant. Conversely, any space curve whose curvature and torsion are both constant and ...
The process of obtaining solution of (x, y) of an Euler spiral can thus be described as: Map L of the original Euler spiral by multiplying with factor a to L′ of the normalized Euler spiral; Find (x′, y′) from the Fresnel integrals; and; Map (x′, y′) to (x, y) by scaling up (denormalize) with factor 1 / a . Note that 1 / a ...
In addition to curves and surfaces, parametric equations can describe manifolds and algebraic varieties of higher dimension, with the number of parameters being equal to the dimension of the manifold or variety, and the number of equations being equal to the dimension of the space in which the manifold or variety is considered (for curves the ...
Theorema egregium of Gauss states that the Gaussian curvature of a surface can be expressed solely in terms of the first fundamental form and its derivatives, so that K is in fact an intrinsic invariant of the surface. An explicit expression for the Gaussian curvature in terms of the first fundamental form is provided by the Brioschi formula.
The third essential description of a curve is the parametric one, where the x- and y-coordinates of curve points are represented by two functions x(t), y(t) both of whose functional forms are explicitly stated, and which are dependent on a common parameter . Examples of implicit curves include: