ESC195: Calculus II

Tutorial 9
Arc Length of Space Curves
The formula used for finding the arclength of a space curve in 3D is very similar to
that of the 2D parametric curves we’ve seen before

𝑏 2 2 2
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
𝐿=න + + 𝑑𝑡
𝑎 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

or more compactly
𝑏
𝐿 = න 𝐫 ′ 𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝑎
Arc Length of Space Curves
We can also represent arc length as a function, starting at some initial point
in time

𝑡 𝑡 2 2 2
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑦 𝑑𝑧
𝑠 𝑡 = න 𝐫 ′ 𝑢 𝑑𝑢 = න + + 𝑑𝑢
𝑎 𝑎 𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑢

And thus

𝑑𝑠
= 𝐫′ 𝑡
𝑑𝑡
Curvature
The curvature of a space curve measures how quickly the curve changes
direction at a given point, being the magnitude of the rate of change of the
unit tangent vector, 𝐓, with respect to arc length, 𝑠

𝑑𝐓 𝐓′ 𝑡 𝐫 ′ 𝑡 × 𝐫 ′′ 𝑡
𝜅 𝑡 = = ′ =
𝑑𝑠 𝐫 𝑡 𝐫′ 𝑡 3

where we recall that

𝐫′ 𝑡
𝐓 𝑡 = ′
𝐫 𝑡
Normal and Binormal Vectors
For 3D space curves, we need a set of three unit vectors that characterize the behaviour of the
curve at any given point. One of these is the unit tangent vector, and the other two are normal to
the curve, creating a set of orthonormal vectors.
The principal unit normal vector can be thought of as the direction in which the curve is turning
𝐓′ 𝑡
𝐍 𝑡 = ′
𝐓 𝑡
The binormal vector is perpendicular to both 𝐓 and 𝐍

𝐁 𝑡 =𝐓 𝑡 ×𝐍 𝑡
The normal plane is the plane in which both 𝐍 and 𝐁 lie, and the osculating plane is the plane in
which both 𝐍 and 𝐓 lie
Torsion
Torsion can be thought of as a representation of the lifting or “twisting”
of a curve out of the osculating plane at any given point

𝑑𝐁 𝐁′ 𝑡 ∙ 𝐍 𝑡 𝐫 ′ 𝑡 × 𝐫 ′′ 𝑡 ∙ 𝐫 ′′′ 𝑡
𝜏=− ∙𝐍=− ′
=
𝑑𝑠 𝐫 𝑡 𝐫 ′ 𝑡 × 𝐫 ′′ 𝑡 2
Velocity, Speed, and Acceleration
With our knowledge of vector functions, velocity, speed, and
acceleration can be readily extended from 2D to 3D

𝐫 𝑡 + ℎ − 𝐫(𝑡)
𝐯 𝑡 = lim = 𝐫′ 𝑡
ℎ→0 ℎ

𝑑𝑠
𝐯 𝑡 =
𝑑𝑡

𝐚 𝑡 = 𝐯 ′ 𝑡 = 𝐫 ′′ 𝑡
Velocity, Speed, and Acceleration
It can be useful to consider the normal and tangential components of
acceleration
𝐚 = 𝑎 𝑇 𝐓 + 𝑎𝑁 𝐍
where
𝑎𝑇 = 𝑣 ′ = 𝐯 𝑡 ′

𝑎𝑁 = 𝜅𝑣 2 = 𝜅 𝐯 𝑡 2