The gauge length is the initial separation of the points whose extension defines a reported engineering strain. It need not equal the full deforming length between grips.

For a constant-rate radiation measurement through $n$ identical absorbing sheets, a simple Poisson distribution model has expected counts ${\mu }_n=t[N_0{e}^{-bn}+B]$. Here $N_0$ is the unattenuated signal rate, $b$ is attenuation per sheet, $B$ is an additive background rate and $t$ is exposure. At low attenuation the signal is approximately exponential; at strong attenuation the observed rate approaches $B$. Consequently a logarithmic plot of raw counts bends towards a plateau rather than remaining a straight line. Measure background independently with the source absent, or fit it with its uncertainty; subtracting it and then taking a logarithm is unreliable when the net count is small or negative.

Adding a total derivative $dg(q(t))/dt$ to a Lagrangian changes its action only by $g(q(T))-g(q(0))$. Under fixed-endpoint variations, this boundary term is constant, so the Euler-Lagrange equations and their minimizing paths are unchanged. Componentwise, $d[\partial (dg/dt)/\partial {\dot{q}}_i]/dt={\sum }_j{g}_{ij}{\dot{q}}_j=\partial (dg/dt)/\partial q_i$ by equality of mixed partial derivatives. Endpoint freedom would require reconsidering the resulting natural boundary conditions for a free endpoint.

A homogeneous fluid in a prescribed gravitational field obeys $D\mathbf{u}/Dt=-\nabla (p/\rho )+\mathbf{g}$ and $\nabla \cdot \mathbf{u}=0$. Multiplying both constant mass density and pressure by the same positive factor preserves the velocity solution, provided initial and boundary data remain compatible. Thus velocity-only observations do not determine density in this model. Independently prescribed pressure gradients or the fluid's own gravity can break this invariance.

For constant mass density ${\rho }_0$, a frame with constant angular velocity $\mathbf{\Omega }$ absorbs centrifugal acceleration into reduced pressure $\Pi =p/{\rho }_0-|\mathbf{\Omega }\times \mathbf{r}{|}^2/2$. Indeed $\mathbf{\Omega }\times (\mathbf{\Omega }\times \mathbf{r})=-\nabla |\mathbf{\Omega }\times \mathbf{r}{|}^2/2$. Transforming the material acceleration in the Euler equations gives the displayed equation. The Coriolis acceleration remains velocity dependent and cannot be absorbed into a scalar potential. A conservative physical body force can be included by adding its potential to $\Pi$.

A locus is the set of points satisfying specified geometric conditions. A circle is the locus at fixed Euclidean distance from a point; an ellipse is the locus with fixed sum of distances to its foci of a conic.

For two parallel lines ${\mathbf{a}}_1+s\mathbf{v}$ and ${\mathbf{a}}_2+t\mathbf{v}$ in three-dimensional Euclidean space, with $\mathbf{v}\ne 0$ and $\mathbf{d}={\mathbf{a}}_2-{\mathbf{a}}_1$, their shortest distance isEvery joining displacement is $\mathbf{d}+(t-s)\mathbf{v}$. Its component perpendicular to $\mathbf{v}$ is fixed, and its parallel component can be cancelled by a suitable $t-s$. The Pythagorean theorem proves that this perpendicular component has the shortest Euclidean norm. The cross product expression follows from $\Vert \mathbf{d}\times \mathbf{v}\Vert =\Vert \mathbf{d}\Vert \Vert \mathbf{v}\Vert \sin \theta$. For coincident lines the distance is zero. The perpendicular-component formula also applies in any finite-dimensional Euclidean space, where a three-dimensional cross product need not be available.

The center of a circle or sphere is the unique point $\mathbf{c}$ at the fixed positive radius $R$ from every point of that circle or sphere. In Cartesian coordinates, its equation is $|\mathbf{x}-\mathbf{c}{|}^2=R^2$. In the complex plane, a circle has equation $|z-c{|}^2=R^2$; completing the square identifies $c$ as its center. For example, $|z+b{|}^2=R^2$ has center $-b$.

A quadric surface in three-dimensional Euclidean space is the zero set of a real polynomial of degree two. Its quadratic part can be written with a symmetric matrix $A$, since the antisymmetric matrix part contributes zero to $x^{T}Ax$. An orthogonal diagonalization and a translation expose its geometry: examples include an ellipsoid, an elliptic cone, and a hyperboloid. This affine geometric description allows singular surfaces such as a cone's vertex.

Points are collinear when they lie on a single line. Two vectors are collinear when their linear span has dimension at most one. For a nonzero vector $v$, this means that the other vector is $\lambda v$ for some scalar $\lambda$. This algebraic convention includes the zero vector; the directional use of “parallel” sometimes assumes both vectors are nonzero.

A geometric cone joins a fixed point to points of a plane curve by straight lines. A circular cone uses a circle as that curve; its solid version includes the enclosed circular cross-sections. For a right circular cone of height $h$ and base radius $R$, the cross-section radius varies linearly along the axis, and its volume is $\pi R^{2}h/3$ by integration. An elliptic cone allows elliptical cross-sections. The construction differs from the abstract topological cone, which does not specify lengths or angles.