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Arc-Length Parameterization: R (T) Rcos I + Rsin J + T K, 0 T H

The document derives a formula for the arc length of a helix. A helix is defined by a vector-valued function r(t) involving radius R, height h, and number of turns N. Taking the derivative of r(t) and plugging into the arc length formula yields an expression for the arc length of the helix as 4π2N2R2 + h2. The document then discusses how to parameterize a curve by its arc length s(t), obtaining an expression for the speed s'(t) of a particle moving along the curve.

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49 views

Arc-Length Parameterization: R (T) Rcos I + Rsin J + T K, 0 T H

The document derives a formula for the arc length of a helix. A helix is defined by a vector-valued function r(t) involving radius R, height h, and number of turns N. Taking the derivative of r(t) and plugging into the arc length formula yields an expression for the arc length of the helix as 4π2N2R2 + h2. The document then discusses how to parameterize a curve by its arc length s(t), obtaining an expression for the speed s'(t) of a particle moving along the curve.

Uploaded by

mangalvao2009
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 3 | Vector-Valued Functions 285

⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r(t) = Rcos⎝2πNt ⎠ i + Rsin⎝2πNt ⎠ j + t k, 0 ≤ t ≤ h,
h h
where R represents the radius of the helix, h represents the height (distance between two consecutive turns), and the helix
completes N turns. Let’s derive a formula for the arc length of this helix using Equation 3.12. First of all,
⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
r′(t) = − 2πNR sin⎝2πNt ⎠ i + 2πNR cos⎝2πNt ⎠ j + k.
h h h h
Therefore,
b
s = ∫ ‖ r′(t) ‖ dt
a

⎛ 2πNR ⎛2πNt ⎞⎞ ⎛2πNR ⎛2πNt ⎞⎞


h 2 2
=∫ 2
⎝− h sin⎝ h ⎠⎠ + ⎝ h cos⎝ h ⎠⎠ + 1 dt
0

4π 2 N 2 R 2 ⎛sin 2 ⎛2πNt ⎞ + cos 2 ⎛2πNt ⎞⎞ + 1dt


h
=∫ ⎝ ⎝ h ⎠ ⎝ h ⎠⎠
0 h2
h
=∫ 4π 2 N 2 R 2 + 1dt
0 h2
⎡ 2 2 2 ⎤h
= ⎢ t 4π N2 R + 1⎥ 0
⎣ h ⎦
2 2 2 2
= h 4π N R2 + h
h
= 4π 2 N 2 R 2 + h 2.
This gives a formula for the length of a wire needed to form a helix with N turns that has radius R and height h.

Arc-Length Parameterization
We now have a formula for the arc length of a curve defined by a vector-valued function. Let’s take this one step further
and examine what an arc-length function is.
If a vector-valued function represents the position of a particle in space as a function of time, then the arc-length function
measures how far that particle travels as a function of time. The formula for the arc-length function follows directly from
the formula for arc length:
t (3.13)
s(t) = ∫ ⎛
⎝ f ′ (u)⎞⎠ 2 + ⎛⎝g′ (u)⎞⎠ 2 + ⎛⎝h′ (u)⎞⎠ 2du.
a

If the curve is in two dimensions, then only two terms appear under the square root inside the integral. The reason for using
the independent variable u is to distinguish between time and the variable of integration. Since s(t) measures distance
traveled as a function of time, s′ (t) measures the speed of the particle at any given time. Since we have a formula for s(t)
in Equation 3.13, we can differentiate both sides of the equation:
⎡ t ⎤
s′ (t) = d ∫ ⎛⎝ f ′ (u)⎞⎠ 2 + ⎛⎝g′ (u)⎞⎠ 2 + ⎛⎝h′ (u)⎞⎠ 2du
dt ⎣ a ⎦
⎡ t ⎤
= d ∫ ‖ r′(u) ‖ du
dt ⎣ a ⎦
= ‖ r′(t) ‖ .
If we assume that r(t) defines a smooth curve, then the arc length is always increasing, so s′ (t) > 0 for t > a. Last, if
r(t) is a curve on which ‖ r′(t) ‖ = 1 for all t, then
t t
s(t) = ∫ ‖ r′(u) ‖ du = ∫ 1 du = t − a,
a a

which means that t represents the arc length as long as a = 0.

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