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curvature

 
Dictionary: cur·va·ture   (kûr'və-chʊr', -chər) pronunciation
n.
  1. The act of curving or the state of being curved.
  2. Mathematics.
    1. The ratio of the change in the angle of a tangent that moves over a given arc to the length of the arc.
    2. The limit of this ratio as the length of the arc approaches zero.
    3. The reciprocal of the radius of a circle.
  3. Medicine. A curving or bending, especially an abnormal one: curvature of the spine.

[Middle English, from Latin curvātūra, from curvātus, past participle of curvāre, to bend, from curvus, curved.]


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Measure of the rate of change of direction of a curved line or surface at any point. In general, it is the reciprocal of the radius of the circle or sphere of best fit to the curve or surface at that point. This notion of best fit derives from the principle that only one circle can be drawn though any three points not on the same line. The radius of curvature at the middle point is approximately equal to the radius of that one circle. This calculation becomes more exact the closer the points are. The precise value is found using a limit. Because a straight line can be thought of as an arc of a circle of infinite radius, its curvature is zero.

For more information on curvature, visit Britannica.com.

Thesaurus: curvature
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Geography Dictionary: curvature
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In meteorology, the wind speed divided by the radius of curvature of the bending air stream. Conventionally, cyclonic curvatures have positive, and anticyclonic curvatures negative, radii of curvature in the Northern Hemisphere.

Veterinary Dictionary: curvature
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A nonangular deviation from a normally straight course.

  • greater c. of reticulum — in the cow lies against the diaphragm opposite the sixth and seventh ribs and faces left and ventrally.
  • greater c. of stomach — the left or lateral border of the stomach, marking the junction of the parietal and visceral surfaces.
  • lesser c. of reticulum — in the cow faces right and dorsally and lies against the omasum.
  • lesser c. of stomach — the right or medial border of the stomach, marking the junction of the parietal and visceral surfaces.
  • spinal c. — abnormal deviation of the vertebral column, as in kyphosis, lordosis and scoliosis.
Translations: Curvature
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - krumning, kurve, krumningsgrad

Nederlands (Dutch)
ronding, verbuiging, (ver)kromming, welving

Français (French)
n. - (Phys) courbure, (Méd) déviation (de la colonne vertébrale), scoliose

Deutsch (German)
n. - Krümmung

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - καμπυλότητα, κυρτότητα

Italiano (Italian)
curvatura

Português (Portuguese)
n. - curvatura (f)

Русский (Russian)
изгиб, кривая

Español (Spanish)
n. - curvatura

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - krökning, bågform

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
屈曲, 曲率, 弯曲

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 屈曲, 曲率, 彎曲

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 구부림, 만곡, 곡률

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 湾曲, 湾曲部, 曲率

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تقوس, , أنحناء, اعوجاج, التواء‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עיקום, עקמומיות‬


Best of the Web: curvature
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Some good "curvature" pages on the web:


Math
mathworld.wolfram.com
 
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more