Scaled length of an Archimedean spiral (${\lim }_{a\to 0^{+}}a{L}_a=R^2/2$)

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.