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Use polar coordinates $z=r{e}^{i\theta }$, where $r=|z|\ge 0$. The equation sets $r=\theta$, giving an Archimedean spiral. The origin is excluded because the complex argument of zero is undefined. With the principal complex argument in $(-\pi ,\pi ]$, the locus isIt approaches the excluded origin along the positive real axis, passes through $i\pi /2$, and ends at $-\pi$. The choice of argument matters: the convention $[0,2\pi )$ instead gives $0<\theta <2\pi$, while allowing all values of the complex argument gives every turn with $\theta >0$.

Let ${\mathbf{e}}_r,{\mathbf{e}}_{\varphi },{\mathbf{e}}_z$ be the cylindrical unit vectors. The surface has an upward normal vector proportional to ${\mathbf{e}}_z-h^{\prime }(r){\mathbf{e}}_r$. If $N_z$ is the vertical component of the normal force, its radial component is $-h^{\prime }(r)N_z$. In the stated approximation, vertical acceleration and the vertical driving-force component are neglected, so vertical balance gives $N_z\simeq Mg$. The horizontal contact force is consequently $-Mg{h}^{\prime }(r){\mathbf{e}}_r$. The projected velocity and its speed areThe driving force is parallel to this velocity, with components $F\dot{r}/u$ and $Fr\dot{\varphi }/u$. Use the acceleration in polar coordinates and Newton's second law to obtainThese equations apply where $u\ne 0$; at rest the direction of an exactly velocity-aligned drive is not determined.

For a prescribed path, write $r^{\prime }=dr/d\varphi$, $r^{\prime \prime }=d^{2}r/d{\varphi }^2$. The chain rule gives $\dot{r}=r^{\prime }\dot{\varphi }$ and $\ddot{r}=r^{\prime \prime }{\dot{\varphi }}^2+r^{\prime }\ddot{\varphi }$. Subtract $r^{\prime }/r$ times the azimuthal equation from the radial equation. The driving force and $\ddot{\varphi }$ both cancel:Thus the constraint for tangentially driven motion on an axisymmetric surface isThe denominator must give a nonnegative squared speed, and the calculation uses $r>0$. At the polar origin a limiting Cartesian description is appropriate.

For the paraboloid and Archimedean spiral, putThen, for $\varphi >0$,The branch tending to $\varphi =\infty$ has positive angular velocity, henceSince $u=ϵ\dot{\varphi }\sqrt{1+{\varphi }^2}$, solve the azimuthal equation for the required force:This is positive for $\varphi >0$, consistent with a forward drive. Taking the limit gives

These are the large-time limits of the printed projected equations. Their mechanical approximation has a precise range limitation: on the exact surface, $z=h(r)$ gives $\dot{z}=(2r/\ell )\dot{r}$, which along this solution grows like $2{ϵ}^2\alpha \varphi /\ell$. At fixed positive $ϵ$, it is not small as $\varphi \to \infty$. Thus the requested limits are formal limits of that reduced model; neglect of vertical motion is not a uniform approximation to the full three-dimensional motion all the way to infinity.

This plane curve is an Archimedean spiral. Put ${\mathbf{e}}_r=(\cos u,\sin u,0)$ and ${\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }=(-\sin u,\cos u,0)$, so ${\mathbf{e}}_r^{\prime }={\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }$ and ${\mathbf{e}}_{\theta }^{\prime }=-{\mathbf{e}}_r$. ThenTherefore the curvature of a plane curve isThe parametrization is regular even at $u=0$, where the curvature of a plane curve is $2$.

Use the polar radius $r=at\in [0,1]$ as the parameter of the Archimedean spiral. Its angle in polar coordinates is $r/a$. The radial and angular contributions to its arc length are orthogonal, soThere is no need to evaluate this integral. The simple bounds $r\le \sqrt{a^2+r^2}\le r+a$ implyThe squeeze theorem therefore gives the scaled length of an Archimedean spiral:Geometrically, the radial contribution becomes negligible after multiplying the arc length by $a$; the remaining contribution is the area under the function graph $r\mapsto r$ on $[0,1]$.

The distance from the origin is $r=4\pi -t$. The direction angle, measured counterclockwise from the positive horizontal axis, is $\theta =\pi /2-t$ modulo $2\pi$. Thus the path is an Archimedean spiral, turning clockwise through two complete revolutions as its radius decreases linearly from $4\pi$ to zero.

It starts at $(0,4\pi )$, reaches $(7\pi /2,0)$ at $t=\pi /2$, crosses $(0,-3\pi )$ at $t=\pi$, returns to the positive vertical axis at $(0,2\pi )$ when $t=2\pi$, and ends at the origin when $t=4\pi$. These crossings fix both the scale and direction of the sketch.

A plane curve is a curve contained in a plane. In algebraic geometry, one studies plane curves defined by polynomial equations. General plane curves, such as an Archimedean spiral, need not be algebraic curves.

Let an Archimedean spiral have polar radius $r=at$ and angle $t$ in polar coordinates, with $0\le t\le R/a$, where $R>0$ is fixed. Parameterizing by $r$ gives the arc lengthThe bounds $r\le \sqrt{a^2+r^2}\le r+a$ yieldThe squeeze theorem proves the displayed limit. Thus the arc length grows like $R^2/(2a)$ as the turns become closely spaced, without requiring an explicit antiderivative.