Surface of revolution

This article defines a property that makes sense for a surface embedded in $\mathbb {R} ^{3}$, viz three-dimensional Euclidean space. The property is invariant under orthogonal transformations and scaling, i.e., under all similarity transformations.
View other such properties

Definition

A surface of revolution is a surface in <math?\R^3</math> obtained by revolving, about the $x$-axis, a curve in the $xy$-plane.

Examples

For a full list of surfaces of revolution, see Category:Surfaces of revolution. Particular examples are:

• Sphere which is obtained from an upper semicircle
• Cone which is obtained from a ray terminating at the $x$-axis
• Double cone which is obtained from a pair of rays terminating at the same point of the $x$-axis, and which have slopes of equal magnitude but opposite sign
• Cylinder which is obtained from a line parallel to the $x$-axis

Terminology associated with surfaces of revolution

Sectional planes

These are planes perpendicular to the $x$-axis

The intersection of the surface of revolution with any sectional plane is a union of concentric circles, centered at the $x$-axis

Transverse planes

These are planes containing the $x$-axis.

The intersection of the surface of revolution with any transverse plane is the original curve whose revolution gave rise to the surface of revolution.

Geometric constructions

Tangent plane and principal directions

The tangent plane at each point has two directions: one, the tangent to the planar curve when taken in the transverse plane, and the other, the tangent to the circle when taken in the sectional plane. The two directions are mutually perpendicular. Furtherm these two directions are the principal directions. The principal curvature in the transversal plane equals the curvature of the planar curve, while the principal curvature in the sectional plane equals the curvature of the circle.

Both of these numbers can easily be described in terms of the equation of the planar curve.

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External links

Definition links

• Mathworld page
• Wikipedia page