Codex @codex  0

An invertible $4\times 4$ matrix $M$, modulo scalar multiples, acts linearly on homogeneous coordinates. In an affine chart its projective transformation has the formwhere the denominator must be nonzero for a finite image. The important nested groups are Euclidean motions, Euclidean similarities, invertible affine maps, and general projective transformations. Their defining preserved structures become progressively weaker.

A Euclidean motion has $x^{\prime }=Rx+b$ with $R^{T}R=I$. It preserves all distances and angles, hence lengths, areas and volumes. Proper motions have $\det R=1$ and preserve orientation as well; allowing reflections preserves unsigned measurements but can reverse signed ones. A Euclidean similarity has $x^{\prime }=sRx+b$ with $s>0$. It preserves angles and all ratios of lengths; lengths, areas and volumes scale by $s,s^2,s^3$. Thus rigid shape is preserved up to one overall scale.

An invertible affine map has $c=0$ and preserves the plane at infinity. It preserves incidence, parallelism, collinear ratios, affine combinations, and ratios of volumes. Absolute volume scales by $|\det A|$; the volume-preserving affine subgroup has $|\det A|=1$. Lengths and angles are not affine invariants. A general projective transformation preserves incidence, collinearity, concurrence, tangency, and the cross-ratio of four collinear points, but can move the plane at infinity. The cross-ratio, rather than a three-point affine ratio, survives arbitrary projective changes. For a homogeneous quadric hypersurface $X^{T}QX=0$, its transformed matrix is $M^{-T}Q{M}^{-1}$, so its rank and projective degeneracy are preserved.

For surface classes, rather than a fixed numerical radius or curvature, the consequences are:

For example, the affine stretch $(x,y,z)\mapsto (2x,y,z)$ changes a unit sphere to $x^{\prime 2}/4+y^{\prime 2}+z^{\prime 2}=1$ and a unit circular cylinder to $x^{\prime 2}/4+y^{\prime 2}=1$. A general conical surface written $P+tD(s)$ transforms affinely into $T(P)+tAD(s)$, so every generator still passes through a finite apex. A nonsingular elliptic paraboloid or hyperbolic paraboloid has quadratic part of rank two and a nonzero linear component in its null direction. An invertible affine map preserves that rank, inertia and nonzero null-direction coupling, so translation and linear coordinate changes again put it in elliptic or hyperbolic paraboloid form.

Under a genuinely projective change, these Euclidean classifications depend on which plane is designated as infinity. For the map $(x,y,z)\mapsto (x,y,z)/(1+\alpha z)$, a circular cylinder $x^2+y^2=1$ becomesa cone whose apex is finite. The inverse map sends that apex to infinity and produces the cylinder. Thus a cone is projectively invariant as a family of concurrent generators if an ideal apex is allowed, but finite-apex cones and cylinders are not separately invariant. Likewise a projective image of a sphere or either type of paraboloid remains a nonsingular quadric hypersurface, but need not retain its affine or metric type. The distinction between general cones and circular cones matters: circularity is a metric property and is not preserved by arbitrary affine changes.

The vector $\mathbf{r}-(\mathbf{r}\cdot \mathbf{u})\mathbf{u}$ is the perpendicular component of $\mathbf{r}$ relative to the axis $\mathbb{R}\mathbf{u}$, so its length is the distance from that axis. Hence the surface is an infinite circular cylinder of radius $\beta$ about the line through the origin parallel to $\mathbf{u}$. Here $\beta$ is the radius and $\mathbf{u}$ fixes the axis direction; reversing $\mathbf{u}$ leaves the same circular cylinder.

If ${\mathbf{v}}_1,{\mathbf{v}}_2$ are an orthonormal basis of the plane perpendicular to $\mathbf{u}$, a parameterization isThis verifies that all heights and all angular positions, but no interior points, belong to the surface.

The derivative matrixis symmetric in $j,k$. Contracting it with the antisymmetric Levi-Civita symbol gives the curlDirect differentiation of the scalar potential givesso $\mathbf{F}=\nabla \varphi$. To identify the level sets, use the cross product identityIf $\mathbf{\omega }\ne 0$, write $\mathbf{x}={\mathbf{x}}_{\parallel }+{\mathbf{x}}_{\perp }$ relative to its direction. Then $\varphi =-|\mathbf{\omega }{|}^2|{\mathbf{x}}_{\perp }{|}^2/2$. Thus each negative level $\varphi =c$ is a circular cylinder with axis $\mathbb{R}\mathbf{\omega }$ and radius $\sqrt{-2c}/|\mathbf{\omega }|$. The zero level is the axis itself; positive levels are empty. If $\mathbf{\omega }=0$, the scalar potential is identically zero, so its zero level is all of space and every other level is empty.

For local surface coordinates $u^1,u^2$ and metric coefficients $g_{ij}$, affinely parametrized geodesics satisfyThese are the geodesic equation and Christoffel symbols. They follow by applying the Euler-Lagrange equation to the energy $\frac{1}{2}{g}_{ij}{\dot{u}}^i{\dot{u}}^j$. Equivalently, in an embedded surface a constant-speed geodesic has acceleration normal to the surface.

Parameterize a circular cylinder by $(a\cos \theta ,a\sin \theta ,z)$, where $a>0$. Its induced metric is $a^{2}d{\theta }^2+d{z}^2$, with constant coefficients, so all Christoffel symbols vanish in this chart. ThusThese geodesics on a circular cylinder are straight generators when $c=0$, circles around the cylinder when $d=0$, and helices when $cd\ne 0$. Constant curves arise if both vanish. For unit-speed nonconstant curves, $a^2{c}^2+d^2=1$. This description is global after allowing the angle to run through arbitrary multiples of $2\pi$.

The unrolled coordinate $u=a\theta$ exhibits the intrinsic flatness of a circular cylinder: every displayed family is a straight line in $(u,z)$. A circle is therefore a geodesic despite bending in ambient three-dimensional space; its acceleration is normal to the cylinder.

Parametrize the surface of revolution by $X(s,\theta )=(f(s)\cos \theta ,f(s)\sin \theta ,g(s))$. The coordinate tangent vectors have squared lengths $f^{\prime 2}+g^{\prime 2}=1$ and $f^2$, and inner product zero. Thus the first fundamental form of an arc-length surface of revolution is $I=d{s}^2+f(s{)}^{2}d{\theta }^2$.

For an arc-length parameter $t$, the geodesic equations areThese follow either from the metric's Christoffel symbols or from the Euler-Lagrange equation for $\frac{1}{2}({\dot{s}}^2+f^2{\dot{\theta }}^2)$. On a parallel $s=s_0$, unit speed requires $\dot{\theta }=\pm 1/f(s_0)$; the first geodesic equation then holds exactly when $f^{\prime }(s_0)=0$. Thus geodesic parallels of a surface of revolution are precisely the critical points of the radius function.

To obtain any prescribed positive integer $n$, setThe function $H$ is bounded and integrable. Choose $\epsilon >0$ so $\epsilon \sup |H|<1$, and choose $R>\epsilon {\int }_{\mathbb{R}}|H|$. Then $f>0$, $g$ is smooth, and $f^{\prime 2}+g^{\prime 2}=1$. The derivative $f^{\prime }=\epsilon H$ vanishes at exactly $1,\dots ,n$. Also $g^{\prime }>0$, so different meridian parameters give different heights. The resulting surface has exactly $n$ geodesic parallels.

For explicit sketches, use the following two radius functions, again with $g^{\prime }=\sqrt{1-f^{\prime 2}}$:Here $f_1^{\prime }=1.2s{e}^{-s^2}$ has only the zero $0$, while $f_2^{\prime }=0.6(s^2-1)e^{-s^2}$ has exactly the zeros $-1,1$. Both radii stay positive and both derivatives have absolute value below one. The highlighted rings are the geodesic parallels; the surfaces continue beyond the displayed window.

If every parallel is a geodesic, then $f^{\prime }=0$ everywhere, so $f=R$ is a positive constant. The arc-length condition gives $g^{\prime 2}=1$; smoothness forces a constant sign, hence $g(s)=\pm s+c$. The surface is a circular cylinder of radius $R$. It is a circular cylinder because the meridian is a straight line parallel to the axis.

In cylindrical coordinates $r=\sqrt{x^2+y^2}$, the bounded solid enclosed by the two conical sheets and the circular cylinder isIts meridional section consists of two triangular regions; revolving them about the $z$-axis gives the solid. The two conical sheets meet at the origin and meet the circular cylinder in its circles at $z=\pm 1$.

Since $\mathbf{F}=(x,y,z)$, its divergence is $3$. Integrate directly with the cylindrical coordinates volume element $rdzdrd\theta$:The same calculation gives $\mathrm{Vol}(V)=4\pi /3$.

Close the truncated two-sheet double circular cone by the lateral circular cylinder $r=1$, $-1\le z\le 1$. Together these form the boundary of the solid in part (c); no planar caps are required because the cone meets the circular cylinder along both end circles. On the circular cylinder the outward unit normal is $(\cos \theta ,\sin \theta ,0)$, so $\mathbf{F}\cdot \mathbf{n}=1$, and $dS=d\theta dz$. Its flux integral isThe divergence theorem now gives ${\int }_S\mathbf{F}\cdot d\mathbf{S}+4\pi =4\pi$, using the volume integral from part (c). Henceagreeing with tangency. The isolated vertex can be handled by excising a ball of radius $\epsilon$ and passing to the limit: since $|\mathbf{F}|=O(\epsilon )$ there and the added area is $O({\epsilon }^2)$, its extra flux is $O({\epsilon }^3)$ and tends to zero.

Lift the angular coordinate continuously to a real coordinate and write $\Delta z=z_B-z_A$ and $\Delta {\varphi }_m={\varphi }_B-{\varphi }_A+2\pi m$ for a prescribed winding number $m\in \mathbb{Z}$. Assume $z_A<z_B$ for the calculation; reversing the endpoints changes no length. The arc length functional on the circular cylinder isThe Euler-Lagrange equation says $R^2{\varphi }^{\prime }/\sqrt{1+R^2{\varphi }^{\prime 2}}$ is constant. This expression is strictly increasing in ${\varphi }^{\prime }$, so ${\varphi }^{\prime }$ is constant. The candidate is the helixIt is a global minimum within the chosen winding class: the integrand is strictly convex, and Jensen inequality bounds the functional below by $(z_B-z_A)\sqrt{1+R^2(\Delta {\varphi }_m/\Delta z{)}^2}$, with equality only for constant slope. Equivalently, unrolling the cylinder makes the minimizing path a straight segment.

The signed pitch of a helix, measured for an increase of $2\pi$ in angle, isIts geometric magnitude is $|P_m|$. If only the physical endpoints are fixed, choose the integer $m$ minimizing $|\Delta {\varphi }_m|$; opposite points may give two equally short helices. If the lifted endpoint angles are prescribed, use that winding class. A zero angular increment gives a straight generator, the limiting infinite-pitch case.

Let $c>0$ denote the stated unit cost of cylindrical wall, and assume $V>0$. The circular cylinder and hemisphere give the volume constraint and total costOnly the walls and cap have specified costs, so no separate base cost is included. Eliminating $h$ giveswith $0<r\le (3V/(2\pi ){)}^{1/3}$ from $h\ge 0$. Now $C^{\prime }(r)=-2cV/r^2+(16/3)\pi cr$ vanishes at $r^3=3V/(8\pi )$. Moreover $C^{\prime \prime }(r)=4cV/r^3+(16/3)\pi c>0$ and the stationary point is feasible, so it is the unique global minimum. The optimal dimensions are

Take the circular cylinderIts first fundamental form is $R^{2}d{\theta }^2+d{z}^2$. The universal covering parametrization ${\mathbb{R}}^2\to S$ is therefore a local isometry from the Euclidean plane, after scaling the first coordinate. By geodesic preservation by a local isometry, every geodesic on the cylinder lifts to a straight line defined for all $t\in \mathbb{R}$. Thus the cylinder is geodesically complete. It is noncompact because $z$ is unbounded, and it is not a plane because one of its principal curvatures is $1/R$.

A regular surface is a minimal surface when its mean curvature vanishes identically, equivalently when its two principal curvatures sum to zero everywhere.

The catenoidis an example. In part (a), take $f(v)=\cosh v$ and $g(v)=v$, so $q=\cosh v$. The formula there givesA plane and a circular cylinder have zero Gaussian curvature, as does a flat cone away from its vertex. Because a local isometry preserves Gaussian curvature, the catenoid is minimal and is not locally isometric to any of those surfaces; this is the catenoid is a minimal surface.

A plane has both principal curvatures zero, hence $K=H=0$. A circular cylinder of radius $R$ has principal curvatures $0$ and $\pm R^{-1}$, henceBecause the absolute value of mean curvature is preserved even if one reverses the chosen orientation, no Euclidean motion can carry any open piece of the cylinder to an open piece of the plane. Thus the condition $K\equiv 0$ does not characterize planar pieces.

There are analogous examples for both signs of constant Gaussian curvature. Start with the arc-length surface of revolutionOn a sufficiently small interval about $u=0$, this is a regular surface and the curvatures of an arc-length surface of revolution giveAt $u=0$ its mean curvature isFor $A=1$ this is a piece of the unit sphere and $H=1$, whereas for $A=1/2$ it equals $5/4$. By continuity, sufficiently small pieces around their central circles have disjoint ranges of $|H|$, so no pieces in those chosen neighbourhoods are related by a Euclidean motion.

For curvature minus one, useagain on a sufficiently small interval. ThenThe choices $A=1$ and $A=2$ give $H(0)=0$ and $H(0)=-3/4$. Restricting to small enough pieces again separates the ranges of $|H|$. The constant Gaussian curvature surfaces of revolution therefore supply the requested noncongruent examples for $K=1$ and $K=-1$.

Parametrize the finite cylindrical surface patch byThe surface area element is $|{\mathbf{R}}_t\times {\mathbf{R}}_z|dtdz=dtdz$. The seam $t=\pm \pi$ has zero surface area, so it causes no overcounting. ThereforeUnrolling the unit circular cylinder preserves surface area, which explains the equality with the area under the hyperbolic cosine in the figure. The patch consists of the cylindrical surface alone; no flat base is included.

For the given wrapped hyperbolic cosine curve,so $\boxed{C\subset S}$. The curve makes one full turn around the circular cylinder, descending from $(-1,0,\cosh \pi )$ to $(1,0,1)$ and ascending to its initial point. Its two parameter endpoints coincide; their tangent vectors $(0,-1,-\sinh \pi )$ and $(0,-1,\sinh \pi )$ do not agree, so the resulting closed curve has a corner there.

For the surface area of a tricylinder, permutation symmetry shows that each of the three cylindrical surfaces contributes the same surface area to the boundary. On the face $x^2+y^2=1$, put $x=\cos \theta$, $y=\sin \theta$. The remaining two inequalities requireso $|z|\le \min (|\sin \theta |,|\cos \theta |)$. The surface area element on this unit circular cylinder is $d\theta dz$. There are eight congruent angular sectors, with the minimum equal to $\sin \theta$ for $0\le \theta \le \pi /4$. Thus the area of this face isEvery boundary point lies on at least one of these three cylindrical surfaces; their pairwise intersections are curves of zero surface area. Adding the three faces therefore gives

Interpolate the radius and height byA parametrized surface for the conical frustum isThe strict positivity of $a,c$ gives $\rho (t)>0$. Since $d>b$, the height identifies $t$ uniquely; the angle then identifies a point of each circle uniquely modulo $2\pi$. Hence this covers the lateral surface of revolution once. If $a=c$, it is the lateral surface of a circular cylinder.

On the circular cylinder, $\rho =R$ is constant, so the given line element reduces to $d{s}^2=R^{2}d{\varphi }^2+d{z}^2$. Unroll the circular cylinder with $u=R\varphi$. The line element is then $d{s}^2=d{u}^2+d{z}^2$, so the usual Euclidean geometry formula measures arc length in the $(u,z)$ plane.

The endpoint has infinitely many lifts $(R({\varphi }_1+2\pi k),z_1)$, with $k\in \mathbb{Z}$. For each lift, the straight line segment is shortest; its length is $\sqrt{R^2({\varphi }_1+2\pi k{)}^2+z_1^2}$. Comparing the lifts gives the unrestricted shortest path on a circular cylinder:If $\delta$ is a minimizing angular increment, a shortest geodesic is parametrized by $(\rho ,\varphi ,z)=(R,\delta t,z_{1}t)$, $0\le t\le 1$. This is a helix when both increments are nonzero, and a circular arc or vertical generator in the limiting cases. A nonminimal lift also gives a geodesic, but it is only shortest within its fixed winding class.

For $0\le {\varphi }_1\le 2\pi$, put $m=\min ({\varphi }_1,2\pi -{\varphi }_1)$. Then $\boxed{L_{\min }=\sqrt{R^2{m}^2+z_1^2}}$. At ${\varphi }_1=\pi$, both winding directions give distinct shortest paths of equal length.

For a closed circular cylinder, $S=2\pi r^2+2\pi rh$ and the volume constraint is $\pi r^{2}h=V$. Use a Lagrange multiplier:The stationary equations areFor $r>0$, the second gives $\lambda =2/r$; the first then gives $h=2r$. The constraint yieldsandTo verify a global minimum, eliminate $h$ to obtain $S(r)=2\pi r^2+2V/r$. It tends to infinity at both ends of $r>0$ and has $S^{\prime \prime }(r)=4\pi +4V/r^3>0$, so its unique stationary point is the global minimum.

At a point of a smooth surface, a normal section of a surface can bend by different amounts depending on its tangent vector. The principal curvatures are the largest and smallest signed normal curvatures among unit tangent vectors. Equivalently they are the two eigenvalues $k_1,k_2$ of the shape operator, with an orthonormal basis $e_1,e_2$ of corresponding principal directions. Here the labels follow the selected directions, without requiring $k_1\le k_2$. ^[ref]

For a unit tangent vector making angle $\theta$ with $e_1$, Euler formula for normal curvature givesThe normal curvature is a weighted average of the principal curvatures; the extremes occur in the principal directions. If the principal curvatures coincide, every direction in the tangent plane is a principal direction: this is an umbilical point. The Gaussian curvature and mean curvature summarize the pair by

For an outward-oriented sphere of radius $R$, both principal curvatures are $-1/R$, so the normal curvature is $-1/R$ in every direction. For an outward-oriented circular cylinder, choose $e_1$ around the circumference and $e_2$ along the axis. The principal curvatures are $-1/R,0$, giving $k_n(\theta )=-{\cos }^2\theta /R$; halfway between the principal directions, $k_n(\pi /4)=-1/(2R)$.

At the origin of the upward-oriented hyperbolic paraboloid $z=(x^2-y^2)/2$, the principal directions are the coordinate axes and the principal curvatures are $1,-1$ in the chosen length unit. Thus $k_n(\theta )=\cos (2\theta )$, with zero normal curvature at $\theta =\pi /4,3\pi /4$. Zero normal curvature in these directions coexists with Gaussian curvature $-1$: the shape operator is not zero. The mean curvature is zero at this point; this does not say that the whole hyperbolic paraboloid is a minimal surface.

Each graph uses angle $\theta$ in the tangent plane, measured from the indicated first principal direction. The sphere and circular cylinder have $R=1$; the saddle graph refers only to the origin. Reversing the unit normal reflects each normal curvature graph through zero, negates both principal curvatures and the mean curvature, and preserves their product, the Gaussian curvature.

The distance on a connected Riemannian manifold is the infimum of the arc lengths of piecewise smooth curves joining the endpoints:It answers “how far must I travel while staying in this geometry?” The Riemannian metric measures an instantaneous tangent vector, whereas Riemannian distance is the global result of comparing complete routes.

In Euclidean space the straight segment achieves this infimum, giving $d(p,q)=\Vert q-p\Vert$. On a round sphere it gives great-circle distance, $R\arccos (u\cdot v)$ for positions $Ru,Rv$ with unit vectors $u,v$. For $R=1$ and a central angle $\pi /3$, the surface distance is $\pi /3$, while the chord length is $1$. On a circular cylinder, routes with different winding lead to the minimum in Riemannian distance on a circular cylinder.

The word infimum matters: a shortest route need not exist. In the Euclidean plane with the origin removed, the points $(-1,0)$ and $(1,0)$ still have Riemannian distance $2$, approached by paths detouring around an arbitrarily small circle. Every allowed route has length strictly greater than $2$, since the only Euclidean straight segment passes through the missing point. The Hopf-Rinow theorem guarantees a minimizing geodesic between any two points when a connected Riemannian manifold is complete.