Handbook and Atlas of Curves

The Handbook and Atlas of Curves describes available analytic and visual properties of plane and spatial curves. Information is presented in a unique format, with one half of the book detailing investigation tools and the other devoted to the Atlas of Plane Curves. Main definitions, formulas, and facts from curve theory (plane and spatial) are discussed in depth. They comprise the necessary apparatus for examining curves. An important and original part of the book is the Atlas, consisting of nearly 200 plane curve classes, more than 700 figures, and nearly 2,000 drawings of specific curves. The classes have been scrupulously chosen for their interesting and useful properties. The dynamics of each class is visually represented by a series of specially arranged precise drawings showing the qualitative change of a curve's behavior as the parameters defining the class vary. The book provides numerous application examples, descriptions of mechanisms for drawing various curves, and discussions of geometric spline possibilities. It includes more than 20 various geometric and linguistic indices and an update on world literature on curve theory. The Handbook and Atlas of Curves will be an invaluable reference for researchers, practitioners, students, and amatuers of mathematics.