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Conference rusure::math

Title:Mathematics at DEC
Moderator:RUSURE::EDP
Created:Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:2083
Total number of notes:14613

829.0. "Folium of Descartes?" by COMICS::DEMORGAN (Richard De Morgan, UK CSC/CS) Tue Feb 23 1988 07:13

    If I remember, the Folium of Descartes has the equation
    
    		x^(3/2) + y^(3/2) = 3axy
    
    It is assymptotic to a line through (-a, -a) in the second and fourth
    quadrants and has a loop which passes through (0, 0).
    
    Question: what is the area of the loop? (I know the answer, but
    could never prove it).
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
829.1Maybe working on the wrong problem?AKQJ10::YARBROUGHWhy is computing so labor intensive?Tue Feb 23 1988 15:2414
According to Bronshtein and Semendyayev's *Handbook of Mathematics*,
the Folium of Descartes has the equation
    
    		x^3 + y^3 = 3axy,
    
is asymptotic to a line through (-a,0) and (0,-a) and has a loop which
passes through (0, 0).

It may be easier to compute the area from the parametric form of the 
equation,

	x = 3at   /(1+t**3),
	y = 3at**2/(1+t**3)
	for -inf<t<-1 and -1<t<inf. The loop corresponds to 0<t<inf.
829.2CLT::GILBERTBuilderTue Feb 23 1988 16:3130
>It may be easier to compute the area from the parametric form of the 
>equation,
>	x = 3at   /(1+t**3),
>	y = 3at**2/(1+t**3)
>	for -inf<t<-1 and -1<t<inf. The loop corresponds to 0<t<inf.

Sure.  Note that 0<t<1 and the line x=y bound half the loop.  Thus the
area of the loop is:

	            1
	Area = 2 Integral (x-y) dx
	           t=0

Now,	dx/dt = 3a (1 - 2t^3) / (1+t^3)^2
and	y - x = 3at(1-t)/(1+t^3)
So,
			 1
	Area = 18 a^2 Integral t(1-t)(1 - 2t^3) / (1+t^3)^3 dt
			t=0

And that integral equals:

	- 4 t^3 + 3 t^2 - 1
	-------------------
	    6 (1+t^3)^2

So the area is:

	Area = 18 a^2 ( -2/24 - -1/6 ) = 3 a^2 / 2

829.3Thanks, correct solutionCOMICS::DEMORGANRichard De Morgan, UK CSC/CSWed Feb 24 1988 06:463
    Thanks .1, .2. I had mis-remembered the formula. The anser in .2
    is correct, but I have seen a 4 line proof which I can't remember
    - I think it either used polar or (s, phi) coordinates.
829.4PSW::WINALSKIPaul S. WinalskiTue Mar 08 1988 01:554
Stan the TECO macro Rabinowitz tells me that the area between the folium
and the asymptote is also 3a**2/2.

--PSW