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Can you show that this is a circle?
This is a shameless rip-off of Rita the dog's posted question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=201401...
Now, for any real a, b, c, the following parametric equations:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh120/Scythian1...
...is that of a perfect circle as t = -∞ to ∞. Can you show that this is indeed a circle, and what's the best way to show that?
Obviously this circle passes through (0,0,0), but are you, using this fact, really going to determine the center of this circle and then show that the distance from it to the curve is a constant? Isn't there an easier, more general way?
The center of the circle is obviously ((1/2)a, (1/2)b, (1/2)c), from inspection.
Rita the dog, Brute Force does it. When you posted your problem, i couldn't find an simple way to determine if a parametric set of equations x(t), y(t), z(t) was even a circle. If we just assume that it could be a circle, then through certain inferences based on the parametric equations it could be determined, but I was hoping for a more general approach. Hence, this "messy" set of equations I've provided here to use as an example.
Proving that a 3D parametric curve is flat is usually not hard to do, but taking it to the next step is the daunting one.
It wasn't for nothing, I appreciate your confirmation of my parametric equations.
2 Answers
- ?Lv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
Edit : More clearly
Any 3D circle can be represented by an equation like r = r₀+ucosθ+vsinθ. u & v are orthogonal vectors in the plane of the circle both of length equal to the radius and r₀ is the centre. Conversely this equation represents a circle only if |u=|v| and u•v=0. The circle lies in the plane containing r₀ with normal uXv.
So if a parameterization is a circle it will be expressable in this form with |u|=|v| & u•v=0.
Set k² = (a²+b²+c²)/(2a²+(b−c)²), t=ktan(θ)
x = ( (b−c)ktanθ+atan²θ ) / sec²θ = ½a + ½(b−c)ksin(2θ) − ½acos(2θ)
y = ½b + ½(−a)ksin(2θ) – ½bcos(2θ)
z = ½c + ½(a)ksin(2θ) – ½ccos(2θ)
For this u = (k/2)( b−c, −a, a ) and v = ½( −a, −b, −c )
u•v = 0 and |u|² = ¼k²((b−c)²+2a²) = ¼(a²+b²+c²), |v|² = ¼(a²+b²+c²) so |u|=|v|
Centre is ½(a,b,c) and radius is ½√(a²+b²+c²) as already shown
The other curve
x = 2(t+20)(2t+19) / (50+12t+t^2),
y = (250+172t+19t^2) / (50+12t+t^2),
z = -2(t+20)(4t+17) / (50+12t+t^2)
Write denominator as (t+6)²+14 and set t+6=√14tanθ so denom = 14sec²θ
2(t+20)(2t+19) = 2(√14*tanθ+14)(2√14*tanθ+7) = 56tan²θ+70√14tanθ+196
∴ x = 2(1–cos(2θ)) + (5/2)√14sin(2θ) + 7(1+cos(2θ))
19t²+172t+250 =19(t+6)²−56(t+6)−98 = 19*14*tan²θ−56*√14tanθ−98
∴ y = (19/2)(1−cos(2θ)) − 2√14*sin(2θ) – (7/2)(1+cos(2θ))
−2(t+20)(4t+17) = −2(√14tanθ+14)(4√14tanθ−7) = −112tan²θ−98√14tanθ +196
∴ z = −4(1−cos(2θ)) – (7/2)√14sin(2θ) + 7(1+cos(2θ))
u = ( 5, −13, 11 ), v = √14*( 5/2, −2, −7/2 )
u•v = 0, |u| = |v| = √315 so curve is a circle and a = (9,6,3)
- Rita the dogLv 77 years ago
I don't know an easy way. But by brute force
a(b+c) x(t) + (bc-a^2-c^2) y(t) + (bc-a^2-b^2) z(t) = 0
So your curve is planar and passes through (0,0,0) when t=0.
Also, by brute force, (x(t)-a/2)^2 + (y(t)-b/2)^2 + (z(t)-c/2)^2 = (a^2+b^2+c^2)/4
so it is a circle, and I see now that you give us that in additional details, so my brute force efforts were for nothing.
Perhaps someone else can give the "right" way to do this problem.