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Torus Knot
In knot theory, a torus knot is a special kind of knot that lies on the surface of an unknotted torus in R3. Similarly, a torus link is a link which lies on the surface of a torus in the same way. Each torus knot is specified by a pair of coprime integers ''p'' and ''q''. A torus link arises if ''p'' and ''q'' are not coprime (in which case the number of components is gcd(''p, q'')). A torus knot is trivial (equivalent to the unknot) if and only if either ''p'' or ''q'' is equal to 1 or −1. The simplest nontrivial example is the (2,3)-torus knot, also known as the trefoil knot. Geometrical representation A torus knot can be rendered geometrically in multiple ways which are topologically equivalent (see Properties below) but geometrically distinct. The convention used in this article and its figures is the following. The (''p'',''q'')-torus knot winds ''q'' times around a circle in the interior of the torus, and ''p'' times around its axis of rotational symmetry.. If ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cylindrical Coordinates
A cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system that specifies point positions by the distance from a chosen reference axis ''(axis L in the image opposite)'', the direction from the axis relative to a chosen reference direction ''(axis A)'', and the distance from a chosen reference plane perpendicular to the axis ''(plane containing the purple section)''. The latter distance is given as a positive or negative number depending on which side of the reference plane faces the point. The ''origin'' of the system is the point where all three coordinates can be given as zero. This is the intersection between the reference plane and the axis. The axis is variously called the ''cylindrical'' or ''longitudinal'' axis, to differentiate it from the ''polar axis'', which is the ray that lies in the reference plane, starting at the origin and pointing in the reference direction. Other directions perpendicular to the longitudinal axis are called ''radial lines''. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunce Hat (topology)
In topology, the dunce hat is a compact topological space formed by taking a solid triangle and gluing all three sides together, with the orientation of one side reversed. Simply gluing two sides oriented in the opposite direction would yield a cone much like the dunce cap, but the gluing of the third side results in identifying the base of the cap with a line joining the base to the point. Name The name is due to E. C. Zeeman, who observed that any contractible 2-complex (such as the dunce hat) after taking the Cartesian product with the closed unit interval seemed to be collapsible. This observation became known as the Zeeman conjecture and was shown by Zeeman to imply the Poincaré conjecture. Properties The dunce hat is contractible, but not collapsible. Contractibility can be easily seen by noting that the dunce hat embeds in the 3-ball and the 3-ball deformation retracts onto the dunce hat. Alternatively, note that the dunce hat is the CW-complex obtained by gluing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seifert Fiber Space
A Seifert fiber space is a 3-manifold together with a decomposition as a disjoint union of circles. In other words, it is a S^1-bundle (circle bundle) over a 2-dimensional orbifold. Many 3-manifolds are Seifert fiber spaces, and they account for all compact oriented manifolds in 6 of the 8 Thurston geometries of the geometrization conjecture. Definition A Seifert manifold is a closed 3-manifold together with a decomposition into a disjoint union of circles (called fibers) such that each fiber has a tubular neighborhood that forms a standard fibered torus. A standard fibered torus corresponding to a pair of coprime integers (a,b) with a>0 is the surface bundle of the automorphism of a disk given by rotation by an angle of 2\pi b/a (with the natural fibering by circles). If a=1 the middle fiber is called ordinary, while if a>1 the middle fiber is called exceptional. A compact Seifert fiber space has only a finite number of exceptional fibers. The set of fibers forms a 2-dimensio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
3-sphere
In mathematics, a 3-sphere is a higher-dimensional analogue of a sphere. It may be embedded in 4-dimensional Euclidean space as the set of points equidistant from a fixed central point. Analogous to how the boundary of a ball in three dimensions is an ordinary sphere (or 2-sphere, a two-dimensional surface), the boundary of a ball in four dimensions is a 3-sphere (an object with three dimensions). A 3-sphere is an example of a 3-manifold and an ''n''-sphere. Definition In coordinates, a 3-sphere with center and radius is the set of all points in real, 4-dimensional space () such that :\sum_^3(x_i - C_i)^2 = ( x_0 - C_0 )^2 + ( x_1 - C_1 )^2 + ( x_2 - C_2 )^2+ ( x_3 - C_3 )^2 = r^2. The 3-sphere centered at the origin with radius 1 is called the unit 3-sphere and is usually denoted : :S^3 = \left\. It is often convenient to regard as the space with 2 complex dimensions () or the quaternions (). The unit 3-sphere is then given by :S^3 = \left\ or :S^3 = \left\. This ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jones Polynomial
In the mathematical field of knot theory, the Jones polynomial is a knot polynomial discovered by Vaughan Jones in 1984. Specifically, it is an invariant of an oriented knot or link which assigns to each oriented knot or link a Laurent polynomial in the variable t^ with integer coefficients. Definition by the bracket Suppose we have an oriented link L, given as a knot diagram. We will define the Jones polynomial, V(L), using Louis Kauffman's bracket polynomial, which we denote by \langle~\rangle. Here the bracket polynomial is a Laurent polynomial in the variable A with integer coefficients. First, we define the auxiliary polynomial (also known as the normalized bracket polynomial) :X(L) = (-A^3)^\langle L \rangle, where w(L) denotes the writhe of L in its given diagram. The writhe of a diagram is the number of positive crossings (L_ in the figure below) minus the number of negative crossings (L_). The writhe is not a knot invariant. X(L) is a knot invariant since it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander Polynomial
In mathematics, the Alexander polynomial is a knot invariant which assigns a polynomial with integer coefficients to each knot type. James Waddell Alexander II discovered this, the first knot polynomial, in 1923. In 1969, John Conway showed a version of this polynomial, now called the Alexander–Conway polynomial, could be computed using a skein relation, although its significance was not realized until the discovery of the Jones polynomial in 1984. Soon after Conway's reworking of the Alexander polynomial, it was realized that a similar skein relation was exhibited in Alexander's paper on his polynomial. Definition Let ''K'' be a knot in the 3-sphere. Let ''X'' be the infinite cyclic cover of the knot complement of ''K''. This covering can be obtained by cutting the knot complement along a Seifert surface of ''K'' and gluing together infinitely many copies of the resulting manifold with boundary in a cyclic manner. There is a covering transformation ''t'' acting on ''X''. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knot Genus
In mathematics, a Seifert surface (named after German mathematician Herbert Seifert) is an orientable surface whose boundary is a given knot or link. Such surfaces can be used to study the properties of the associated knot or link. For example, many knot invariants are most easily calculated using a Seifert surface. Seifert surfaces are also interesting in their own right, and the subject of considerable research. Specifically, let ''L'' be a tame oriented knot or link in Euclidean 3-space (or in the 3-sphere). A Seifert surface is a compact, connected, oriented surface ''S'' embedded in 3-space whose boundary is ''L'' such that the orientation on ''L'' is just the induced orientation from ''S''. Note that any compact, connected, oriented surface with nonempty boundary in Euclidean 3-space is the Seifert surface associated to its boundary link. A single knot or link can have many different inequivalent Seifert surfaces. A Seifert surface must be oriented. It is possible to ass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossing Number (knot Theory)
In the mathematical area of knot theory, the crossing number of a knot is the smallest number of crossings of any diagram of the knot. It is a knot invariant. Examples By way of example, the unknot has crossing number zero, the trefoil knot three and the figure-eight knot four. There are no other knots with a crossing number this low, and just two knots have crossing number five, but the number of knots with a particular crossing number increases rapidly as the crossing number increases. Tabulation Tables of prime knots are traditionally indexed by crossing number, with a subscript to indicate which particular knot out of those with this many crossings is meant (this sub-ordering is not based on anything in particular, except that torus knots then twist knots are listed first). The listing goes 31 (the trefoil knot), 41 (the figure-eight knot), 51, 52, 61, etc. This order has not changed significantly since P. G. Tait published a tabulation of knots in 1877. Additivity There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braid Word
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-stranded structure. More complex patterns can be constructed from an arbitrary number of strands to create a wider range of structures (such as a fishtail braid, a five-stranded braid, rope braid, a French braid and a waterfall braid). The structure is usually long and narrow with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others. It can be compared with the process of weaving, which usually involves two separate perpendicular groups of strands (warp and weft). Historically, the materials used have depended on the indigenous plants and animals available in the local area. During the Industrial Revolution, mechanized braiding equipment was invented to increase production. The braiding te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Braid Theory
A braid (also referred to as a plait) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing two or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-stranded structure. More complex patterns can be constructed from an arbitrary number of strands to create a wider range of structures (such as a fishtail braid, a five-stranded braid, rope braid, a French braid and a waterfall braid). The structure is usually long and narrow with each component strand functionally equivalent in zigzagging forward through the overlapping mass of the others. It can be compared with the process of weaving, which usually involves two separate perpendicular groups of strands (warp and weft). Historically, the materials used have depended on the indigenous plants and animals available in the local area. During the Industrial Revolution, mechanized braiding equipment was invented to increase production. The braiding te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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