IIT JEE , AIEEE Forum - Physics , Mechanics

shreyasnivas

avtually radius of curvature of trajectory means exactly what the word say it does.. i can only give you a good explanation of say a hypothetical electron revolving around a positive charge. here the path is a circle, hence the radius of curvature is the circumference of the circle..

also for parabolic path, the radius of curvature is the curve itself.

(remember in optics you have radius of curvature? larger the radius of curvature of lens, the shorter is the lens, and vice versa)

dont get confused with radius and radius of curvature!! they r different.

the formula is there in irodov somewhere.. i cant remember it but it has dy/dx and d^2y/dx^2 and different powers of dy/dx. dy/dx is the tangent to the trajectory of the particle.

just another example of this in everyday life..
we use bimetallic strips as thermostats. when completely straight we say that the strip has INFINITE radius of curvature, and the more it bends, the radius of curvature decreases.

i guess it is a way of measuring the change of trjectory of a curve..

shreyas
(rate me please!!!)

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