Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ia Paper 3 4A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 25I b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For a unit-speed curve with nonzero curvature of a space curve , define the Frenet frameThe torsion of a space curve iswith this choice of convention.
For the requested example, take the unit-speed circleand the unit-speed circular helixBoth have the constant nonzero curvature , but their torsions are respectively and . A proper Euclidean motion of Euclidean three-space preserves torsion, so no such rigid motion relates the two curves.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 2 26G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
If , then , so the unit tangent is constant andThus both curves are straight line segments. Equal arc length makes their parameter intervals equally long, and a rotation in followed by a translation maps one to the other. Hence they are related by a proper Euclidean motion of Euclidean three-space.
The conclusion fails for , because curvature alone does not determine a space curve. A unit circle has curvature one and torsion zero. The circular helix with ,is unit speed and has curvature one but torsion one. Proper Euclidean motions preserve torsion, so equal-length pieces of these two curves cannot be related by one.