Girth (geometry)

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In three-dimensional geometry, the girth of a geometric object, in a certain direction, is the perimeter of its parallel projection in that direction. [1] [2] For instance, the girth of a unit cube in a direction parallel to one of the three coordinate axes is four: it projects to a unit square, which has four as its perimeter.

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Surfaces of constant girth

The girth of a sphere in any direction equals the circumference of its equator, or of any of its great circles. More generally, if S is a surface of constant width w, then every projection of S is a curve of constant width, with the same width w. All curves of constant width have the same perimeter, the same value πw as the circumference of a circle with that width (this is Barbier's theorem). Therefore, every surface of constant width is also a surface of constant girth: its girth in all directions is the same number πw. Hermann Minkowski proved, conversely, that every convex surface of constant girth is also a surface of constant width. [1] [2]

Projection versus cross-section

For a prism or cylinder, its projection in the direction parallel to its axis is the same as its cross section, so in these cases the girth also equals the perimeter of the cross section. In some application areas such as shipbuilding this alternative meaning, the perimeter of a cross section, is taken as the definition of girth. [3]

Application

Girth is sometimes used by postal services and delivery companies as a basis for pricing. For example, Canada Post requires that an item's length plus girth not exceed a maximum allowed value. [4] For a rectangular box, the girth is 2 * (height + width), i.e. the perimeter of a projection or cross section perpendicular to its length.

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Area Size of a two-dimensional surface

Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or plane area refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while surface area refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-dimensional object. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat. It is the two-dimensional analogue of the length of a curve or the volume of a solid.

Circumference Perimeter of a circle or ellipse

In geometry, the circumference is the perimeter of a circle or ellipse. That is, the circumference would be the arc length of the circle, as if it were opened up and straightened out to a line segment. More generally, the perimeter is the curve length around any closed figure. Circumference may also refer to the circle itself, that is, the locus corresponding to the edge of a disk. The circumference of a sphere is the circumference, or length, of any one of its great circles.

Circle Simple curve of Euclidean geometry

A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is constant. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. Usually, the radius is required to be a positive number. A circle with is a degenerate case. This article is about circles in Euclidean geometry, and, in particular, the Euclidean plane, except where otherwise noted.

Mercator projection Cylindrical conformal map projection

The Mercator projection is a cylindrical map projection presented by Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It became the standard map projection for navigation because it is unique in representing north as up and south as down everywhere while preserving local directions and shapes. The map is thereby conformal. As a side effect, the Mercator projection inflates the size of objects away from the equator. This inflation is very small near the equator but accelerates with increasing latitude to become infinite at the poles. As a result, landmasses such as Greenland and Antarctica appear far larger than they actually are relative to landmasses near the equator, such as Central Africa.

A perimeter is a closed path that encompasses, surrounds, or outlines either a two dimensional shape or a one-dimensional length. The perimeter of a circle or an ellipse is called its circumference.

Sphere Geometrical object that is the surface of a ball

A sphere is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance r from a given point in three-dimensional space. That given point is the centre of the sphere, and r is the sphere's radius. The earliest known mentions of spheres appear in the work of the ancient Greek mathematicians.

Hyperbolic geometry Non-Euclidean geometry

In mathematics, hyperbolic geometry is a non-Euclidean geometry. The parallel postulate of Euclidean geometry is replaced with:

Descriptive geometry

Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design and in art. The theoretical basis for descriptive geometry is provided by planar geometric projections. The earliest known publication on the technique was "Underweysung der Messung mit dem Zirckel und Richtscheyt", published in Linien, Nuremberg: 1525, by Albrecht Dürer. Italian architect Guarino Guarini was also a pioneer of projective and descriptive geometry, as is clear from his Placita Philosophica (1665), Euclides Adauctus (1671) and Architettura Civile, anticipating the work of Gaspard Monge (1746–1818), who is usually credited with the invention of descriptive geometry. Gaspard Monge is usually considered the "father of descriptive geometry" due to his developments in geometric problem solving. His first discoveries were in 1765 while he was working as a draftsman for military fortifications, although his findings were published later on.

Curve of constant width Shape with width independent of orientation

In geometry, a curve of constant width is a simple closed curve in the plane whose width is the same in all directions. The shape bounded by a curve of constant width is a body of constant width or an orbiform, the name given to these shapes by Leonhard Euler. Standard examples are the circle and the Reuleaux triangle. These curves can also be constructed using circular arcs centered at crossings of an arrangement of lines, as the involutes of certain curves, or by intersecting circles centered on a partial curve.

Reuleaux triangle Curved triangle with constant width

A Reuleaux triangle[ʁœlo] is a curved triangle with constant width, the simplest and best known curve of constant width other than the circle. It is formed from the intersection of three circular disks, each having its center on the boundary of the other two. Constant width means that the separation of every two parallel supporting lines is the same, independent of their orientation. Because all its diameters are the same, the Reuleaux triangle is one answer to the question "Other than a circle, what shape can a manhole cover be made so that it cannot fall down through the hole?"

Barbiers theorem

In geometry, Barbier's theorem states that every curve of constant width has perimeter π times its width, regardless of its precise shape. This theorem was first published by Joseph-Émile Barbier in 1860.

Cross section (geometry) Projection of a solid body onto a plane in 3D space, or an intersection of the two

In geometry and science, a cross section is the non-empty intersection of a solid body in three-dimensional space with a plane, or the analog in higher-dimensional spaces. Cutting an object into slices creates many parallel cross-sections. The boundary of a cross-section in three-dimensional space that is parallel to two of the axes, that is, parallel to the plane determined by these axes, is sometimes referred to as a contour line; for example, if a plane cuts through mountains of a raised-relief map parallel to the ground, the result is a contour line in two-dimensional space showing points on the surface of the mountains of equal elevation.

Area of a circle

In geometry, the area enclosed by a circle of radius r is πr2. Here the Greek letter π represents the constant ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter, approximately equal to 3.14159.

Four-vertex theorem Closed curves have ≥4 extremes of curvature

The four-vertex theorem of geometry states that the curvature along a simple, closed, smooth plane curve has at least four local extrema. The name of the theorem derives from the convention of calling an extreme point of the curvature function a vertex. This theorem has many generalizations, including a version for space curves where a vertex is defined as a point of vanishing torsion.

In mathematics, the Crofton formula, named after Morgan Crofton (1826–1915), is a classic result of integral geometry relating the length of a curve to the expected number of times a "random" line intersects it.

Coastline paradox Counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length

The coastline paradox is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve-like properties of coastlines, i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fractal dimension. The first recorded observation of this phenomenon was by Lewis Fry Richardson and it was expanded upon by Benoit Mandelbrot.

Surface of constant width

In geometry, a surface of constant width is a convex form whose width, measured by the distance between two opposite parallel planes touching its boundary, is the same regardless of the direction of those two parallel planes. One defines the width of the surface in a given direction to be the perpendicular distance between the parallels perpendicular to that direction. Thus, a surface of constant width is the three-dimensional analogue of a curve of constant width, a two-dimensional shape with a constant distance between pairs of parallel tangent lines.

Blaschke–Lebesgue theorem Plane geometry theorem on least area of all curves of given constant width

In plane geometry the Blaschke–Lebesgue theorem states that the Reuleaux triangle has the least area of all curves of given constant width. In the form that every curve of a given width has area at least as large as the Reuleaux triangle, it is also known as the Blaschke–Lebesgue inequality. It is named after Wilhelm Blaschke and Henri Lebesgue, who published it separately in the early 20th century.

In convex geometry, a body of constant brightness is a three-dimensional convex set all of whose two-dimensional projections have equal area. A sphere is a body of constant brightness, but others exist. Bodies of constant brightness are a generalization of curves of constant width, but are not the same as another generalization, the surfaces of constant width.

References

  1. 1 2 Hilbert, David; Cohn-Vossen, Stephan (1952), Geometry and the Imagination (2nd ed.), Chelsea, pp. 216–217, ISBN   0-8284-1087-9 .
  2. 1 2 Groemer, H. (1996), Geometric Applications of Fourier Series and Spherical Harmonics, Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications, vol. 61, Cambridge University Press, p. 219, ISBN   9780521473187 .
  3. Gillmer, Thomas Charles (1982), Introduction to Naval Architecture, Naval Institute Press, p.  305, ISBN   9780870213182 .
  4. "Canada". Canada Post. 2008-01-14. Retrieved 2008-03-13.