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Pseudotriangulation
In Euclidean plane geometry, a pseudotriangle (''pseudo-triangle'') is the simply connected subset of the plane that lies between any three mutually tangent convex sets. A pseudotriangulation (''pseudo-triangulations'') is a partition of a region of the plane into pseudotriangles, and a pointed pseudotriangulation is a pseudotriangulation in which at each vertex the incident edges span an angle of less than π. Although the words "pseudotriangle" and "pseudotriangulation" have been used with various meanings in mathematics for much longer, the terms as used here were introduced in 1993 by Michel Pocchiola and Gert Vegter in connection with the computation of visibility relations and bitangents among convex obstacles in the plane. Pointed pseudotriangulations were first considered by Ileana Streinu (2000, 2005) as part of her solution to the carpenter's ruler problem, a proof that any simple polygonal path in the plane can be straightened out by a sequence of continuous motions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laman Graph
In graph theory, the Laman graphs are a family of sparse graphs describing the minimally rigid systems of rods and joints in the plane. Formally, a Laman graph is a graph on ''n'' vertices such that, for all ''k'', every ''k''-vertex subgraph has at most 2''k'' − 3 edges, and such that the whole graph has exactly 2''n'' − 3 edges. Laman graphs are named after Gerard Laman, of the University of Amsterdam, who in 1970 used them to characterize rigid planar structures. This characterization, however, had already been discovered in 1927 by Hilda Geiringer. Rigidity Laman graphs arise in rigidity theory: if one places the vertices of a Laman graph in the Euclidean plane, in general position, there will in general be no simultaneous continuous motion of all the points, other than Euclidean congruences, that preserves the lengths of all the graph edges. A graph is rigid in this sense if and only if it has a Laman subgraph that spans all of its vertices ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bitangent
In geometry, a bitangent to a curve is a line that touches in two distinct points and and that has the same direction as at these points. That is, is a tangent line at and at . Bitangents of algebraic curves In general, an algebraic curve will have infinitely many secant lines, but only finitely many bitangents. Bézout's theorem implies that an algebraic plane curve with a bitangent must have degree at least 4. The case of the 28 bitangents of a quartic was a celebrated piece of geometry of the nineteenth century, a relationship being shown to the 27 lines on the cubic surface. Bitangents of polygons The four bitangents of two disjoint convex polygons may be found efficiently by an algorithm based on binary search in which one maintains a binary search pointer into the lists of edges of each polygon and moves one of the pointers left or right at each steps depending on where the tangent lines to the edges at the two pointers cross each other. This bitangent calculation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triangulation (geometry)
In geometry, a triangulation is a subdivision of a planar object into triangles, and by extension the subdivision of a higher-dimension geometric object into simplices. Triangulations of a three-dimensional volume would involve subdividing it into tetrahedra packed together. In most instances, the triangles of a triangulation are required to meet edge-to-edge and vertex-to-vertex. Types Different types of triangulations may be defined, depending both on what geometric object is to be subdivided and on how the subdivision is determined. * A triangulation T of \mathbb^d is a subdivision of \mathbb^d into d-dimensional simplices such that any two simplices in T intersect in a common face (a simplex of any lower dimension) or not at all, and any bounded set in \mathbb^d intersects only finitely many simplices in T. That is, it is a locally finite simplicial complex that covers the entire space. * A point-set triangulation, i.e., a triangulation of a discrete set of points \mathcal\su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ileana Streinu
Ileana Streinu is a Romanian-American computer scientist and mathematician, the Charles N. Clark Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at Smith College in Massachusetts.Curriculum vitae retrieved 2012-03-06. She is known for her research in computational geometry, and in particular for her work on kinematics and . Biography Streinu did her undergraduate studies at the |
Rigidity Theory (structural)
In discrete geometry and mechanics, structural rigidity is a combinatorics, combinatorial theory for predicting the flexibility of ensembles formed by rigid body, rigid bodies connected by flexible Linkage (mechanical), linkages or hinges. Definitions Stiffness, Rigidity is the property of a structure that it does not bend or flex under an applied force. The opposite of rigidity is flexibility. In structural rigidity theory, structures are formed by collections of objects that are themselves rigid bodies, often assumed to take simple geometric forms such as straight rods (line segments), with pairs of objects connected by flexible hinges. A structure is rigid if it cannot flex; that is, if there is no continuous motion of the structure that preserves the shape of its rigid components and the pattern of their connections at the hinges. There are two essentially different kinds of rigidity. Finite or macroscopic rigidity means that the structure will not flex, fold, or bend by a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carpenter's Ruler Problem
The carpenter's rule problem is a discrete geometry problem, which can be stated in the following manner: ''Can a simple planar polygon be moved continuously to a position where all its vertices are in convex position, so that the edge lengths and simplicity are preserved along the way?'' A closely related problem is to show that any non-self-crossing polygonal chain can be straightened, again by a continuous transformation that preserves edge distances and avoids crossings. Both problems were successfully solved by . Combinatorial proof Subsequently to their work, Ileana Streinu provided a simplified combinatorial proof formulated in the terminology of robot arm motion planning. Both the original proof and Streinu's proof work by finding non-expansive motions of the input, continuous transformations such that no two points ever move towards each other. Streinu's version of the proof adds edges to the input to form a pointed pseudotriangulation, removes one added convex hull edge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convex Shelling
Convex or convexity may refer to: Science and technology * Convex lens, in optics Mathematics * Convex set, containing the whole line segment that joins points ** Convex polygon, a polygon which encloses a convex set of points ** Convex polytope, a polytope with a convex set of points ** Convex metric space, a generalization of the convexity notion in abstract metric spaces * Convex function, when the line segment between any two points on the graph of the function lies above or on the graph * Convex conjugate, of a function * Convexity (algebraic geometry), a restrictive technical condition for algebraic varieties originally introduced to analyze Kontsevich moduli spaces Economics and finance * Convexity (finance), second derivatives in financial modeling generally * Convexity in economics * Bond convexity, a measure of the sensitivity of the duration of a bond to changes in interest rates * Convex preferences, an individual's ordering of various outcomes Other uses * Convex Com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Counting (proof Technique)
In combinatorics, double counting, also called counting in two ways, is a combinatorial proof technique for showing that two expressions are equal by demonstrating that they are two ways of counting the size of one set. In this technique, which call "one of the most important tools in combinatorics", one describes a finite set from two perspectives leading to two distinct expressions for the size of the set. Since both expressions equal the size of the same set, they equal each other. Examples Multiplication (of natural numbers) commutes This is a simple example of double counting, often used when teaching multiplication to young children. In this context, multiplication of natural numbers is introduced as repeated addition, and is then shown to be commutative by counting, in two different ways, a number of items arranged in a rectangular grid. Suppose the grid has n rows and m columns. We first count the items by summing n rows of m items each, then a second time by summing m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euler Characteristic
In mathematics, and more specifically in algebraic topology and polyhedral combinatorics, the Euler characteristic (or Euler number, or Euler–Poincaré characteristic) is a topological invariant, a number that describes a topological space's shape or structure regardless of the way it is bent. It is commonly denoted by \chi ( Greek lower-case letter chi). The Euler characteristic was originally defined for polyhedra and used to prove various theorems about them, including the classification of the Platonic solids. It was stated for Platonic solids in 1537 in an unpublished manuscript by Francesco Maurolico. Leonhard Euler, for whom the concept is named, introduced it for convex polyhedra more generally but failed to rigorously prove that it is an invariant. In modern mathematics, the Euler characteristic arises from homology and, more abstractly, homological algebra. Polyhedra The Euler characteristic \chi was classically defined for the surfaces of polyhedra, acc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quadrilateral
In geometry a quadrilateral is a four-sided polygon, having four edges (sides) and four corners (vertices). The word is derived from the Latin words ''quadri'', a variant of four, and ''latus'', meaning "side". It is also called a tetragon, derived from greek "tetra" meaning "four" and "gon" meaning "corner" or "angle", in analogy to other polygons (e.g. pentagon). Since "gon" means "angle", it is analogously called a quadrangle, or 4-angle. A quadrilateral with vertices A, B, C and D is sometimes denoted as \square ABCD. Quadrilaterals are either simple (not self-intersecting), or complex (self-intersecting, or crossed). Simple quadrilaterals are either convex or concave. The interior angles of a simple (and planar) quadrilateral ''ABCD'' add up to 360 degrees of arc, that is :\angle A+\angle B+\angle C+\angle D=360^. This is a special case of the ''n''-gon interior angle sum formula: ''S'' = (''n'' − 2) × 180°. All non-self-crossing quadrilaterals tile the plane, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simultaneous Linear Equations
In mathematics, a system of linear equations (or linear system) is a collection of one or more linear equations involving the same variables. For example, :\begin 3x+2y-z=1\\ 2x-2y+4z=-2\\ -x+\fracy-z=0 \end is a system of three equations in the three variables . A solution to a linear system is an assignment of values to the variables such that all the equations are simultaneously satisfied. A solution to the system above is given by the ordered triple :(x,y,z)=(1,-2,-2), since it makes all three equations valid. The word "system" indicates that the equations are to be considered collectively, rather than individually. In mathematics, the theory of linear systems is the basis and a fundamental part of linear algebra, a subject which is used in most parts of modern mathematics. Computational algorithms for finding the solutions are an important part of numerical linear algebra, and play a prominent role in engineering, physics, chemistry, computer science, and economics. A syste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
