Differentiating both sides w.r.

t x, we get

3x 2 + 3y 2 y 1  3(x y 1 + y)
y ´ x2
ùñ y 1 
y2 ´ x

Again, differentiating the above equation w.r.t x, we get

(y 2 ´ x)(y 1 ´ 2x) ´ (y ´ x 2 )(2y y 1 ´ x)

y2 
(y 2 ´ x)2
(y 2 ´ x)(y 1 ´ 2x) ´ (y ´ x 2 )(2y y 1 ´ x)
 .
(y 2 ´ x)2

Now, at ( 32 , 32 ),
3
 3 2
2´ 2
y1   3 2 3  ´1
2 ´2

and
 3 2  3 2
( 2 ´ 32 )(´1 ´ 2 ˆ 32 ) ´ ( 32 ´ 2 )(2 ˆ 32 ˆ (´1) ´ 32 ) 32
y2  (  )2  .
3 2 3 3
2 ´ 2

We know that ∣ ∣
∣ (1 + y 2 ) 32 ∣
∣ 1 ∣
ρ∣ ∣
∣ y2 ∣
3 3

. Hence the radius of curvature at 2, 2 is
∣ ∣
∣ (1 + (´1)2 ) 32 ∣ 2? 2 3? 2
∣ ∣
ρ∣ 32
∣  32  .
∣ ∣ 16
3 3
?
3 2
Hence, the required radius of the curvature is ρ  16 .

2.3 Center of Curvature

Let the equation of a curve be y  f (x) and P (x, y) be any point on the curve. Let R (or ρ) be the
radius of curvature of the curve at P and P T be the tangent at the point P. Suppose the tangent
makes angle ψ with the x-axis. Draw a circle with radius R, touching the tangent P T at P and on
the same side of the tangent as that of the curve. Then, the centre C : (X , Y ) of this circle is the
centre of the curvature. From the Fig.2, we have

y1 y 1 (1+y 12 )
X  x ´ R sin ψ  x ´ R ? x´ y2
1+y 12
(1+y 12 )
and Y  y + R cos ψ  y + R ? 1 y+ y2 .
1+y 12

Hence, the equation of the circle of curvature is

(x ´ X )2 + (y ´ Y )2  R 2 .

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 Figure 2: Circle of curvature and centre of curvature

The center of curvature (X , Y ) of the curve in the parametric form x  x(t ), y  y(t ) is given as
   
y 1 (x 1 )+ (y 1 )2 x 1 (x 1 )+ (y 1 )2
X x´ and Y  y + ,
x1 y 2 ´ x2 y 1 x1 y 2 ´ x2 y 1

d2x dy d2y
where x 1  dx
dt , x2  dt2
, y1  dt and y 2  dt2
.

Example 2.2. Find the center of curvature of the curve x y  12 at the point (3, 4).

Solution: The given equation is

x y  12.
12
This implies that y  x . On differentiating, we get

12 24
y1  ´ , y2  3 .
x2 x

Now, at (3, 4), y 1  ´312

2 
4
3 and y 2  24
33
 89 .
We know that the centre of the curvature at (x, y) is

y 1 (1 + y 12 ) (1 + y 12 )
X x´ , Y y+ .
y2 y2

4
 4 2  4 2
3 (1+ 3 ) 43 (1+ ) 57
So, at (3, 4), X  3 ´ 8  6 and Y  4 + 8
3
 8 .
9 9

 43 
Hence, the center of curvature is 6 , 57
8 .

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