PRACTICALPATHCURVECALCULATIONS

NCThomas

Aim

Theaimofthispaperistoderivesomeformulaeandresultsusefulforpracticalworkwithpathcurvese.g.
forcalculationorcomputerprogramming.ThebasictheoryiscoveredinEdwards1982and1993,towhich
thereaderisreferredfortheconceptofpathcurves.

Introduction

In brief a path curve is the locus of a point which is repeatedly moved by a linear (projective)
transformation, or dually the cuspidal edge of the developable arising when a plane is repeatedly
transformedinthesameway. Suchatransformationleavesatetrahedroninvariant,whichinthespecial
casetreatedinthisarticleconsistsoftworealhorizontalparallelplanes,arealverticalaxisandtherealline
atinfinityinwhichthetwoplanesmeet.Inadditiontherearetworealinvariantpointswheretheaxismeets
theplanes.Theremainingtwoplanes,foursidesandtwoinvariantpointsofthetetrahedronareimaginary.
ThesemattersaredealtwithinEdwards(all).Thereadermayalsoconsultwww.nct.anth.org.uk.

BasicFormulae

Wewillfirstderivethebasicformulae.Figure1showstheinvarianttetrahedronwithXandYasthereal
invariantpoints. Twologarithmicspiralsareshowninthetopandbottomplanestogetherwithashaded
planewhichrevolvesabouttheaxis.ItmeetsthespiralsintwopointsAandB(apartfromotherpointsin
eachplanenotshown),andthetwolinesAYandXBmeetinapointPlyingonthespiralpathcurveshown.
AstheplanerotatesPdescribesthepathcurve.Twocasesarise:eitherthespiralswindroundtheaxisinthe
samesenseinwhichcasethepathcurveisavorticalspiral,orelsetheydosoinoppositesensesgivingan
eggshapedcurvesuchasthatillustrated.Ifthecurveisrotatedabouttheaxisthenitcreatesaneggshaped
surface;hencethename.Allthiswillbetakenwithoutproofasourstartingpoint,buildingontheworkof
GeorgeAdamsandLawrenceEdwards.Someoftheirformulaewillbereproducedaswegoalong.
 Figure1

Wewillneedthewellknownequationforalogarithmicspiral:

r = r 0 e cot (1)

whereristheradiusofapointfromthecentre,r0istheinitialradiuswhentheangleturnedthroughis
zero,andisthe(constant)anglebetweentheradiusandtangentatanypointonthecurve.

InFigure1lettheradialdistanceofPfromtheaxisber,itsheightabovethebottomplanebeh,andthe
separationoftheplanesbeH.LetXA=uandYB=v,sothatfrom(1)

u = u 0 e cot and v = v 0 e cot (2)

definingand accordingly,whichareconstant.Thereasonforthenegativesignisthatwewillconsider
thecasewhenthespiralswindinoppositedirectionstoyieldeggs,soumustdecreasewithandvincrease
orviceversa.Bysimpleproportiontheradiusrisgivenby

uv
r= (3)
uv

andtheheightby

Hv
h= (4)
uv

Thuswhen=0,(3)and(4)giver0andh0intermsofu0andv0,so(3)and(4)maybesolvedforu0andv0
giving
 r0 H r0 H
u0 = and v0 = (5)
h0 H h0

Substituting(2)in(3)gives

cot cot
u0 v 0 e u0 v 0
r= cot cot
= cot cot
u0 e v 0 e u0 e v 0 e

andnowsubstitutingforu0andv0from(5)gives

r0 H
r= cot cot (6)
H h0 e h0 e

Similarly,substituting(2)and(5)in(4)gives

H
h=
H h 0 (7)
e cot cot 1
h0
Edwardsdefinestwoimportantparameterswhichdescribepathcurvesasfollows:

1.Iftheratiou/u0=binthetopplanewhen=2i.e.afteronerevolution,andsimilarlyv/v0=cinthe
bottomplanesothatbandcarethemultipliersofthegeometricseriesproducedbythespirals,thenthe
logb
parameterisdefinedastheratio .ThisisillustratedinFigure2.
log c
 Figure2
Nowfrom(2)wehave

u 0 e2 cot
b= = e2 cot andsimilarly c = e 2 cot whichgives
u0

cot
= (8)
cot

2.Thespirallingiscontrolledbytheparameterdefinedashalfthesumoflogbandlogcwhichis

1

2
2 cot 2 cot

However,isalsodefinedperradianturned,soweremovethefactorsof2togive

1
=
2
cot cot (9)

Solving(8)and(9)forandgives

2 2
cot = cot = (10)
1 1
Finallysubstitutingthesein(6)and(7)weget

r0 H
r= 2 2 (11)
1 1
H h0 e h0 e

H
h=
H h 0 (12)
e2 1
h0

Thesearethemostgeneralequations(forthistypeoftetrahedron),withoutspecialassumptionsaboutthe
separation of the planes or the location of (r0,h0), and are most useful in practice. Notice that h is
independentofr0,butrisdependentuponh0.If>0theexponentsofthetwotermsinthedenominatorof
(11)areofoppositesignandsoasincreasesdominancemovesfromtheonetotheother,whichiswhyan
eggformisproducedasthedenominatordoesnottendtozero.Ifontheotherhand<0bothexponents
havethesamesignandthedenominatorchangesfromzerotoinfinity,yieldingavortex.Notethatalthough
(11)and(12)werederivedforanegg,theyapplyalsotovorticesasassumingapositiveexponentforuin
1
(2)anddefiningaccordinglyas 2 logclog b yieldsthesamefinalresult.

Anotherusefulequationisobtainedbydividingrbyhwhichgives

2
r r0 1
= e (13)
h h0

If=0thenr=r0andh=h0whichmeansthepathcurvesarehorizontalcirclesasthechoiceofr0andh0is
arbitrary.If=then=0toavoidinfinitequantities,andsothepathcurvesareverticallysituatedprofiles,
buttheequationsaresingularasisindeterminate.Wewillseehowtoworkwiththisbelow.

CosmicVortex

Ifoneoftherealinvariantplanesisatinfinitythenwehavewhatmaybecalledacosmicvortexwhichhas
provedimportantinpractice,particularlyinthestudyofwatervortices.Inthiscasethevertexofthevortex
isatinfinitysoH=in(11)and(12),givingthesimpleexponentials

r = r0 e 1
h = h 0 e 2 (14)

i.e.parametricequationsin.Theequationforrisacaseofequation(1),sotheorthogonalprojectionof
thecurveontoanyhorizontalplaneisalogarithmicspiralwith

2
cot =
1

Althoughtheequationforhissimilarwedonotobtainaspiralbecausehisnotaradialquantity;insteadwe
getanexponentialcurve.
Analternativeformofequations(14)isobtainedbyeliminatinge2

[ ]
1

[ ]
1
h0 1 1 1
h= r or r= r 0 h0 h (15)
r 1
0

whichcanbeusefulwhenisunknownorunimportantorepsilon=,butr0andh0areknown.
1
If 1 0 thenr=0whenh=0sothevertexis accessibleandthecurvetendstoaninvariantlineat
infinity,whichiswhatLawrenceEdwardsreferredtoasanairyvortex.
1
If 1 0 then r as h 0 andthevertexisatinfinity,givingwhatEdwardsreferedtoasa
wateryvortex.

Finding
and
fromTwoKnownPoints

Wecansolve(12)for:

=
1
2
log
[
h Hh0
h 0 H h ] (16)

2
1
Ifnowwemultiplythenumeratoranddenominatorof(11)and(12)by e andsolveforweget

2
= 1
log
[
r
Hr 0

Hh 0 h0 e2 ] (17)

Thisdoesnotsolvethemostgeneralproblem(whenthetetrahedronisunknown),butifthetetrahedronis
knownthenknowledgeof(r0,h0),(r,h)andgivesand.

EquationofProfile

AveryusefulequationduetoB.Christian(1979)givestherelationshipbetweenrandhwhenweareonly
concernedwiththetwodimensionalprofileofapathcurve,orwhatamountstothesamething, when
=.FirstwenormalisethecoordinatesbysettingH=2andh0=1sothatfrom(12)weget

2h
e2 = (18)
h

andsubstitutingthisin(11)togetherwithH=2andh0=1weget
 2r 0
r= 1
(19)

2h
h
1

2h
h
1

Nowwechangethereferencefortheheightsothatitvariesfrom1to+1betweentheinvariantplanes,and
thusreplacehby1+ h in(19)togive

1
1 1
2r 0 2r 0 1 h 1h
r= 1
= 1

1h
1h
1

1 h
1 h
1
1 h 1
1 h 1
1 h
i.e.
1

r = r 0 1 h 1 1h 1 (20)

whichisanelegantresultwhennormalisedcoordinatesaresatisfactory.Itisparticularlyusefulwhen=
asthenequations(11)and(12)aresingular.

IfweareworkinginthreedimensionsthenwemayuseChristiansformulaforr,andaseparateformulafor
.Replacinghby1+ h in(18)andrearrangingwehave

2
h = 1e 2 = e e = tanh
1e e e
so
tanh 1 h
= (21)

givingusineffectparametricequationsin h .Thisassumes=0whenr=r0.

MaximumRadius

InFigure2theeggprofilehasamaximumradiuswhichissimplyrelatedto.Differentiating(20)weget

[ ]
1 1
1 1 1 1
1h 1h 1 h 1 h
dr
d h
= r0
1 1 h

1 1 h
=
r
[ 1


1 1h 1 h
] (22)

whichiszerowhen

h = 1 (23)
1

Thus for =1 (an ellipse) h =0 as we expect. Replacing h by (h1) and reverting to the original
coordinateswefind
 H
h= (24)
1

sofor=2themaximumradiusisatonethirdofH,andsoon,whichgivesanintuitivefeelforandthe
reasonforitbeingdefinedasitis,aswellasaquickwayofassessingitvisually.(24)makesitclearthatfor
agivenalleggpathcurvesregardlessofr0andh0havetheirmaximumradiusatthesamerelativeheight.

Substitutingfor h in(20)wefindthemaximumradiusis

1
1
2 r0 (25)
r MAX =
1

innormalisedcoordinates,whichwehaveindicatedbywriting r0 =radiusat h =0orh=H/2.Notethis

onlyworksforeggs,asif<0then h1 whichmeansitdoesnotliebetweentheinvariantplanes.

TangentstoPathCurves

Recallthatapathcurveisalsoobtainedbytransformingplanes,andtheselfdualnatureofthetransform
meansthatthecuspidaledgedeterminedbytheplanescanbemadetocoincidewiththepointwisepath
curveofFigure1.Figure3showsthedualconstructionwheretheshadedplanetouchestwospirals,andas
itismomentarilyturningaboutitspointsofcontactwiththem,thelinejoiningthosepointsistangentialto
thepathcurveandisknownasthepathline.Wewillnowrelatethis,inviewofthedualityinvolved,with
thepointwiseconstructionandthusseehowtofindthetangent.WefollowEdwards(1982)inthisprocess.

Figure3
InFigure4weshowapointPonthecurveconstructedasinFigure1withXM2meetingYM1inP.We
drawthetangentstothespiralsatM1andM2asshown.InthebottomplanewedrawthelinethroughY
paralleltothetangentinthetopplane,whichmeetsthetangentatM 2inU2.Inthetopplaneweconstruct
U1 similarlyusingthelineXU1 paralelltoM2U2. WewillshowthatU1U2 isthepathlinewhichpasses
throughP.
 Figure4

Figure5showsthetopandbottomplanesofFigure4superimposed.Ifwedrawthelinel 1throughU1atan
angletoXU1thenl1istangentialtoaspiralofthefamilyinthetopplanepassingthroughU 1(astheyall
have astheanglebetweentheirradiiandtangents,taking aspositivebutoppositeinsenseto ).
Similarlywedrawthelinel2throughU2inthebottomplaneatanangletoYU2,whichmustbetangential
toaspiralofthebottomplane.TheangleYM2U2= sinceM2U2istangentialtoaspiralatM2,andas
M2U2 isparalleltoXU1 theangleM1XU1 = (alternatetoYM2U2). TheangleXM1U1 = asM1U1 is
tangentialtoaspiralatM1,soM1U1isatanangletol1asshown(interiorandexterioranglesoftriangle
XM1U1).SimilarlyM2YU2=andl2isatanangletoM2U2.AsM1U1andYU2areparallelitfollows
thatl1isparalleltol2.Butinthatcasel1andl2arelineslikethetwotangentsshowninFigure3,sowehave
thedualconstructioncombinedwiththeoriginal.
 Figure5

NowU1andU2bothlieintheplane(U1M1Y)(c.f.Figure4)so(U1M1Y)meetstheplane(l1,l2)intheline
U1U2,andsimilarlyitmeetstheplane(U2M2X)inU1U2,soitfollowsthat(U1M1Y)meets(U2M2X)in
U1U2. BoththoseplanescontainP,sothepathlineU1U2passesthroughPandhenceisthetangentatP
(sincePliesonthepathcurveandthepathlineisbydefinitionatangenttothecurvemeetingitinonlyone
point).

Wearenowinapositiontocalculate.ReferringtoFigure5,usingthesineruleintriangleXU1M1wehave

XM 1 XU 1 sin
= so XU 1 = XM 1
sin sin sin
andsimilarly
sin
YU 2 = YM 2
sin

whicharetheradiiwewant.Usingequations(10),and(5)for(r,h)insteadof(r0,h0),wehave

1
rH sin rH tan sec rH 2
sec rH
XU 1 = = = 1 1
= sec
h sin h tan tan h h 1
2 2
notingthatwehaveusedinsteadofinthediagrams(asapositivequantityoppositeinsenseto,so
weignorethenegativesignin(10).Similarly

rH
YU 2 = sec
Hh 1

TheangleU1XM1=,soXU1isatanangle(),assumingincreasesclockwise.SimilarlyU2YM2=
soYU2isat(+).Weconcludethatthetangentisthejoinofthepoints

{ rH sec
h 1 } {
, H , and
rH sec
Hh 1
, 0,
} (26)

Ifthepathcurvewindsintheoppositesensei.e.thesensesofthetwospiralsarereversed,thenthesignsof
andmustbereversed.

Ifandarezerothenwehaveforatwodimensionalpathcurve(=)thejoinof

{ rH
h 1 } {
, H and
rH
H h 1
,0
} (27)

ProjectiveEquations

Edwards(1982)givesthefollowingequationforatwodimensionalpathcurveintermsofhomogeneous
coordinates (so farwehaveemployedmetriccoordinates ontheassumption that weareworking with
physicalrealisationsofpathcurves):

xuyvzw=k (28)

AproofisgivenbyThomas(2001)(butpresumablyoriginallybyFelixKlein,thediscovererofpathcurves)
andinadditionthefollowingformulaforthreedimensionalpathsurfacesisderived:

xuyvzwts=k (29)

Twosuchsurfacesintersectinapathcurve.
ParametricEquations

Thefollowingparametricequationsmaybeobtainedforpathcurves(Thomas2001):

x=k1t,y=k2t,z=k3t (30)

wherek1,k2,k3,,,areconstants(realorcomplex)and(x,y,z,t)arethehomogeneouscoordinates.
TheCartesianmetricformis

x=k1z,y=k2z (31)

Wehavealreadymetotherparametricequationsin(14)withastheparameter,and(20)combinedwith
(21)with h asparameter.

VolumeofaCosmicVortex

Firstweintegratealongtheaxisbetweentwoheights.Theelementofvolumeisr2dh,sothevolumeis

h
2
2
V = r dh
h1

From(15)wethusget

[ ]
h 2 3 h 2

[ ]
r 20
V= 2 h
2
1
dh =
r 20 1
2
h 1
h
1
h1 1
1
h0 3 h 0

Thisisinvalidif=3,sostartingagainweobtain

[ ]
r 20 h
V= 2
log h h 2

1
1
h0

Alternativelywemayfindtheradialvolumebetweentworadiiforavolumeelementof2rhdr,andagain
using(15)weobtain

[ ]
2 h0
[ 2 h0
]
2
r
V= r 2 dr = 1
x 3 r 2

r 1
0 r1 3 r 0
1

When=3weget

2 h0 r
V= 1
log r r 2

r0 1
References

LeastSquaresMethodforDeterminingPathCurves,BarryChristian,
MathematicalPhysicalCorrespondenceNumber26,Missoula,Epiphany1979
TheFieldofForm,LawrenceEdwards,FlorisBooks,Edinburgh1982.
ProjectiveGeometry,LawrenceEdwards,RudolfSteinerInstitute,Phoenixville1985.
TheVortexofLife,LawrenceEdwards,FlorisPress,Edinburgh1993.
InfinitesimalTransforms,N.C.Thomas,MathematischPhysikalischeKorrespondenzNr207,
Dornach,Christmas2001(thearticleisinEnglish).