Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Surfaces and Curvature in Geometry

Description

This lecture covers the concept of surfaces with variable curvature, including canonical surfaces with constant Gaussian curvature, and the profound geometric properties associated with positive, zero, and negative curvatures. The instructor explains how the sign of curvature profoundly affects the geometric properties of surfaces, leading to different types of geometries. The lecture also delves into the construction of surfaces with constant curvature, such as pseudospheres and tractricoids, and their implications in geometry. Additionally, the lecture explores the development of surfaces between two curves and introduces the concept of quasi-developability.

This video is available exclusively on Mediaspace for a restricted audience. Please log in to MediaSpace to access it if you have the necessary permissions.

Watch on Mediaspace

Instructor

Bernard Cache

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Mathematics

Geometry: Differential geometry

Related concepts (32)

Curvature

In mathematics, curvature is any of several strongly related concepts in geometry. Intuitively, the curvature is the amount by which a curve deviates from being a straight line, or a surface deviates from being a plane. For curves, the canonical example is that of a circle, which has a curvature equal to the reciprocal of its radius. Smaller circles bend more sharply, and hence have higher curvature. The curvature at a point of a differentiable curve is the curvature of its osculating circle, that is the circle that best approximates the curve near this point.

Gaussian curvature

In differential geometry, the Gaussian curvature or Gauss curvature Κ of a smooth surface in three-dimensional space at a point is the product of the principal curvatures, κ1 and κ2, at the given point: The Gaussian radius of curvature is the reciprocal of Κ. For example, a sphere of radius r has Gaussian curvature 1/r2 everywhere, and a flat plane and a cylinder have Gaussian curvature zero everywhere. The Gaussian curvature can also be negative, as in the case of a hyperboloid or the inside of a torus.

Scalar curvature

In the mathematical field of Riemannian geometry, the scalar curvature (or the Ricci scalar) is a measure of the curvature of a Riemannian manifold. To each point on a Riemannian manifold, it assigns a single real number determined by the geometry of the metric near that point. It is defined by a complicated explicit formula in terms of partial derivatives of the metric components, although it is also characterized by the volume of infinitesimally small geodesic balls.

Ricci curvature

In differential geometry, the Ricci curvature tensor, named after Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, is a geometric object which is determined by a choice of Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian metric on a manifold. It can be considered, broadly, as a measure of the degree to which the geometry of a given metric tensor differs locally from that of ordinary Euclidean space or pseudo-Euclidean space. The Ricci tensor can be characterized by measurement of how a shape is deformed as one moves along geodesics in the space.

Principal curvature

In differential geometry, the two principal curvatures at a given point of a surface are the maximum and minimum values of the curvature as expressed by the eigenvalues of the shape operator at that point. They measure how the surface bends by different amounts in different directions at that point. At each point p of a differentiable surface in 3-dimensional Euclidean space one may choose a unit normal vector. A normal plane at p is one that contains the normal vector, and will therefore also contain a unique direction tangent to the surface and cut the surface in a plane curve, called normal section.

Related lectures (30)

Hyperbolic Geometry

Introduces hyperbolic geometry, covering complete metric spaces, isometries, and Gaussian curvature in dimension 2.

Symmetry in Modern Geometry

Covers symmetry in modern geometry, reflections, translations, rotations, compositions of isometries, fundamental theorems, configurations of lines and planes, and surface analysis.

Gaussian Curvature and Geodesics

Explores the derivative of curve lengths, fixed-end deformations, geodesics, surface point typologies, and sphere parametrization.

Introduction to Euclidean Elements

Introduces the 5th postulate in Euclidean geometry and explores non-Euclidean geometries and their implications.

Rigidity in Negative Curvature