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Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces First
Edition Thomas F. Banchoff Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Thomas F. Banchoff, Stephen Lovett
ISBN(s): 9781568814568, 1568814569
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 8.71 MB
Year: 2010
Language: english
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Differential Geometry
of Curves and Surfaces

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Differential Geometry
of Curves and Surfaces

Thomas Banchoff
Stephen Lovett

A K Peters, Ltd.
Natick, Massachusetts

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CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742
© 2010 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business

No claim to original U.S. Government works

Version Date: 20110714

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4398-9405-7 (eBook - PDF)

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made
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Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgements xv

1 Plane Curves: Local Properties 1

1.1 Parametrizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Position, Velocity, and Acceleration . . . . . . . . . 10
1.3 Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1.4 Osculating Circles, Evolutes, and Involutes . . . . 27
1.5 Natural Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

2 Plane Curves: Global Properties 39

2.1 Basic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2.2 Rotation Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
2.3 Isoperimetric Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
2.4 Curvature, Convexity, and the Four-Vertex Theorem 53

3 Curves in Space: Local Properties 61

3.1 Definitions, Examples, and Differentiation . . . . . 61
3.2 Curvature, Torsion, and the Frenet Frame . . . . . 68
3.3 Osculating Plane and Osculating Sphere . . . . . . 78
3.4 Natural Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

4 Curves in Space: Global Properties 87

4.1 Basic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.2 Indicatrices and Total Curvature . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.3 Knots and Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

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vi Contents

5 Regular Surfaces 107

5.1 Parametrized Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.2 Tangent Planes and Regular Surfaces . . . . . . . . 114
5.3 Change of Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.4 The Tangent Space and the Normal Vector . . . . 134
5.5 Orientable Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

6 The First and Second Fundamental Forms 145

6.1 The First Fundamental Form . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
6.2 The Gauss Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
6.3 The Second Fundamental Form . . . . . . . . . . . 166
6.4 Normal and Principal Curvatures . . . . . . . . . . 177
6.5 Gaussian and Mean Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.6 Ruled Surfaces and Minimal Surfaces . . . . . . . . 197

7 The Fundamental Equations of Surfaces 209

7.1 Tensor Notation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
7.2 Gauss’s Equations and the Christoffel Symbols . . 237
7.3 Codazzi Equations and the Theorema Egregium . 245
7.4 The Fundamental Theorem of Surface Theory . . . 255

8 Curves on Surfaces 259

8.1 Curvatures and Torsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
8.2 Geodesics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
8.3 Geodesic Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
8.4 Gauss-Bonnet Theorem and Applications . . . . . 297
8.5 Intrinsic Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Bibliography 325

Index 327

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Preface

What is Differential Geometry?

Differential geometry studies the properties of curves, surfaces, and
higher-dimensional curved spaces using tools from calculus and linear
algebra. Just as the introduction of calculus expands the descriptive
and predictive abilities of nearly every field of scientific study, the use
of calculus in geometry brings about avenues of inquiry that extend
far beyond classical geometry.
Before the advent of calculus, much of geometry consisted of
proving consequences of Euclid’s postulates. Even conics, which
came into vogue in the physical sciences after Kepler observed that
planets travel around the sun in ellipses, arise as the intersection of
a double cone and a plane, two shapes that fit comfortably within
the paradigm of Euclidean geometry. One cannot underestimate
the impact of geometry on science, philosophy, and civilization as a
whole. Not only did the geometry books in Euclid’s Elements serve
as the model for mathematical proof for over two thousand years in
the Western tradition of a liberal arts education, but geometry also
produced an unending flow of applications in surveying, architec-
ture, ballistics, astronomy, astrology, and natural philosophy more
generally.
The objects of study in Euclidean geometry (points, lines, planes,
circles, spheres, cones, and conics) are limited in what they can de-
scribe. A boundless variety of curves and surfaces and manifolds
arise naturally in areas of inquiry that employ geometry. To ad-
dress these new classes of objects, various branches of mathematics
brought their tools to bear on the expanding horizons of geometry,
each with a different bent and set of fruitful results. Techniques from
calculus and analysis led to differential geometry, pure set theoretic

vii

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viii Preface

methods led to topology, and modern algebra contributed the field

of algebraic geometry.
The types of questions one typically asks in differential geometry
extend far beyond what one can ask in classical geometry and yet
the former do not entirely subsume the latter. Differential geometry
questions often fall into two categories: local properties, by which
one means properties of a curve or surface defined in the neighbor-
hood of a point, or global properties, which refer to properties of
the curve or surface taken as a whole. As a comparison to func-
tions of one variable, the derivative of a function f at a point a is
a local property, since one only needs information about f near a,
whereas the integral of f between a and b is a global property. Some
of the most interesting theorems in differential geometry relate local
properties to global ones. As a case in point, the celebrated Gauss-
Bonnet Theorem single-handedly encapsulates many global results
of curves in the plane at the same time as it proves results about
spherical and hyperbolic geometry.

Using This Textbook

This book is the first in a pair of books that together are intended
to bring the reader through classical differential geometry into the
modern formulation of the differential geometry of manifolds. The
second book in the pair, by Lovett, is entitled Differential Geometry
of Manifolds with Applications to Physics [22]. Neither book directly
relies on the other but knowledge of the content of this book is quite
beneficial for [22].
On its own, the present book is intended as a textbook for a
single semester undergraduate course in the differential geometry of
curves and surfaces, with only vector calculus and linear algebra
as prerequisites. The interactive computer graphics applets that
are provided for this book can be used for computer labs, in-class
illustrations, exploratory exercises, or simply as intuitive aides for
the reader. Each section concludes with a collection of exercises
that range from perfunctory to challenging and are suitable for daily
or weekly problem sets.
However, the self-contained text, the careful introduction of con-
cepts, the many exercises, and the interactive computer graphics

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Preface ix

also make this text well-suited for self-study. Such a reader should
feel free to primarily follow the textbook and use the software as
supporting material; to primarily follow the presentation in the soft-
ware package and consult the textbook for definitions, theorems, and
proofs; or to try to follow both with equal weight. Either way, the
authors hope that the dual nature of the software applets and the
classic textbook structure will offer the reader both a rigorous and
intuitive introduction to the field of differential geometry.

Computer Applets
An integral part of this book is the access to online computer graph-
ics applets that illustrate many concepts and theorems introduced
in the text. Though one can explore the computer demos indepen-
dently of the text, the two are intended as complementary modes
of studying the same material: a visual/intuitive approach and an
analytical/theoretical approach. Though the text does its best to
explain the reason for various definitions and why one might be in-
terested in such and such topic, the graphical applets can often pro-
vide motivation for certain definitions, allow the reader to explore
examples further, and give a visual explanation for complicated the-
orems. The ability to change the choice of the parametric curve or
the parametrized surface in an applet or to change other properties
allows the reader to explore the concepts far beyond what a static
book permits.
Any element in the text (Example, Exercise, Definition, Theo-
rem, etc.) that has an associated applet is indicated by the symbol
shown in this margin. Each demo comes with some explanatory text.
The authors intended the applets to be intuitive enough so that after
using just one or two (and reading the supporting text), any reader
can quickly understand their functionality. However, the applets are
extensible in that they are designed with considerable flexibility so
that the reader can often change whether certain elements are dis-
played or not. Often, there are additional elements that one can
display either by accessing the Controls menu on the Demo window
or the Plot/Add Plot menu on any display window.

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x Preface

The authors encourage the reader to consult the tutorial page

for the applets. All of the applet materials are available online at
http://www.akpeters.com/DiffGeo.

Organization of Topics
Chapters 1 through 4 cover alternatively the local and global theory
of plane and space curves. In the local theory, we introduce the fun-
damental notions of curvature and torsion, construct various associ-
ated objects (e.g., the evolute, osculating circle, osculating sphere),
and present the fundamental theorem of plane or space curves, which
is an analog of the fundamental theorem of calculus. The global
theory studies how local properties (especially curvature) relate to
global properties such as closedness, concavity, winding numbers,
and knottedness. The topics in these chapters are particularly well
suited for computer investigation. The authors know from experi-
ence in teaching how often students make discoveries on their own by
being able to quickly manipulate curves and their associated objects
and properties.
Chapter 5 rigorously introduces the notion of a regular surface,
the type of surface on which the techniques of differential geometry
are well defined. Here one first sees the tangent plane and the concept
of orientability.
Chapter 6 introduces the local theory of surfaces in R3 , focusing
on the metric tensor and the Gauss map from which one defines the
essential notions of principal, Gaussian curvature, and mean cur-
vature. In addition, we introduce the study of surfaces that have
Gaussian curvature or mean curvature identically 0. One cannot un-
derestimate the importance of this chapter. Even a reader primarily
interested in the advanced topic of differentiable manifolds should be
comfortable with the local theory of surfaces in R3 because it pro-
vides many visual and tractable examples of what one generalizes in
the theory of manifolds. Here again, as in Chapter 8, the use of the
software applets is an invaluable aid for developing a good geometric
intuition.
Chapter 7 first introduces the reader to the component notation
for tensors. It then establishes the famous Theorema Egregium, the

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Preface xi

celebrated classical result that the Gaussian curvature depends only

on the metric tensor. Finally, it outlines a proof for the fundamental
theorem of surface theory.
Another title commonly used for Chapter 8 is Intrinsic Geometry.
Just as Chapter 1 considers the local theory of plane curves, Chap-
ter 8 starts with the local theory of curves on surfaces. Of particular
importance in this chapter are geodesics and geodesic coordinates.
The book culminates with the famous Gauss-Bonnet Theorem, both
in its local and global forms, and presents applications to problems
in spherical and hyperbolic geometry.

A Comment on Prerequisites
The mathematics or physics student often first encounters differen-
tial geometry at the graduate level. Furthermore, at that point,
one is typically immediately exposed to the formalism of manifolds,
thereby skipping the intuitive and visual foundation that informs the
deeper theory. Indeed, the advent of computer graphics has added
a new dimension to and renewed the interest in classical differen-
tial geometry. The authors wish to provide a book that introduces
the undergraduate student to an interesting and visually stimulating
mathematical subject that is accessible with only the typical calculus
sequence and linear algebra as prerequisites.
In calculus courses, one typically does not study all the analysis
that underlies the theorems one uses. Similarly, in keeping with
the stated requirements, this textbook does not always provide all
the topological and analytical background for some theorems. The
reader who is interested in all the supporting material is encouraged
to consult [22].
A few key results presented in this textbook rely on theorems
from the theory of differential equations, but either the calculations
are all spelled out or a reference to the appropriate theorem has
been provided. Therefore, experience with differential equations is
occasionally helpful though not at all necessary. In a few cases, the
authors choose not to supply the full proofs of certain results but
instead refer the reader to the more complete text [22].

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xii Preface

A few exercises also require some skills beyond the stated pre-
requisites but these are clearly marked. We have marked exercises
that require ordinary differential equations with (ODE). Problems
marked with (*) indicate difficulty that may be related to technical
ability, insight, or length.

Notation
A quick perusal of the literature on differential geometry shows that
mathematicians and physicists usually present topics in this field
in very different ways. In addition, the classical and modern for-
mulations of many differential geometric concepts vary significantly.
Whenever different notations or modes of presentation exist for a
topic (e.g., differentials, metric tensor, tensor fields), this book at-
tempts to provide an explicit coordination between the notation vari-
ances.
As a comment on vector notation, this book and [22] consis-
tently use the following conventions. A vector or vector function
in a Euclidean vector space is denoted by v , X(t),  
or X(u, v). Of-

ten γ indicates a curve parametrized by X(t) while writing X(t)  =

X(u(t), v(t)) indicates a curve on a surface. The unit tangent and
the binormal vectors of a curve in space are written in the stan-
dard notation T (t) and B(t),
 respectively, but the principal normal
is written P (t), reserving N (t) to refer to the unit normal vector to a
curve on a surface. For a plane curve, U  (t) is the vector obtained by

rotating T (t) by a positive quarter turn. Furthermore, we denote by
κg (t) the curvature of a plane curve as one identifies this curvature
as the geodesic curvature in the theory of curves on surfaces.
In this book, we often work with matrices of functions. The func-
tions themselves are denoted, for example, by aij , and we denote the
matrix by (aij ). Furthermore, it is essential to distinguish between
a linear transformation between vector spaces T : V → W and its
matrix with respect to given bases in V and W . Following notation
that is common in current linear algebra texts, if B is a basis in V
 B 
and B  is a basis in W , then we denote by T B the matrix of T
with respect to these bases. If the bases are understood by context,
we simply write [T ] for the matrix associated to T .

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Preface xiii

Occasionally, there arise irreconcilable discrepancies in defini-

tions or notations (e.g., the definition of a critical point for a function
Rn → Rm , how one defines θ and φ in spherical coordinates, what
units to use in electromagnetism). In these instances the authors
made a choice that best suits their purposes and indicated commonly
used alternatives.

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 CHAPTER XVI
INTERLUDES
Naturally Percival’s observations of Mars, and still more the
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[32]
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[33]
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here about ten minutes ago.” His reply was: “I consider that just as
unpunctual as to be late. Think how much could have been
accomplished in ten minutes!” I have never forgotten that remark.
Percival never wasted minutes.

“Late in the afternoon of the third day, as we were nearing 150

Flagstaff, through the dusk we could see that there had been
a heavy fall of snow, so deep that when the train stopped our
Pullman, being far in the rear, was where the snow—not having been
shovelled—was almost level with the upper step. The men from the
Observatory were there, and their first words were ‘Seeing Good.’
Percival jumped into the deep snow, and taking Mr. E. C. Slipher with
him, drove to the telescope.

“Astronomers take much for granted so far as the details of domestic

life are concerned, and I made up my mind to be a help and not a
hindrance. Dr. V. M. Slipher’s wife came to the rescue, and under her
supervision things were soon adjusted even to a hot supper and
preparation for breakfast the next morning. She was, and always is, a
wonder. Though the wife be not an astronomer a happy asset is it if
she can appreciate her husband’s work, his sacrifices and self-denials.
Many times have I seen their frost-bitten ears and thumbs; hungry
and tired men, but never complaining—patience personified. They are
slaves to the laws that rule the celestial.

“The house we lived in on Mars Hill was a long rambling one, both
roof and sides shingled. Inside all but two rooms were finished, and
partitioned. Two were papered; one of them I papered because no
paper hanger happened to be in town. Occasionally Percival would
come in to see how the work was progressing, and help by steadying
the ladder or stirring the paste. The sitting room—or den, as it was
referred to more often—was lined with half logs from which the bark
had not been stripped. In the ceiling were logs used as beams.
During the evening, when all was quiet, one might hear insects busily
working out some scheme of their own. Open spaces were 151
beamed and, as the logs did not exactly fit, through the
spaces trade-rats would descend from the attic.

“To love nature, and the one for whom one works, it matters not
where one is; that is what one realizes when on Mars Hill. One learns
to go without things. They seem of such minor importance to that for
which the men are seeking; one gets ashamed of oneself to think
otherwise. Each man moves with a definite purpose, indefatigable
workers, no thought of themselves when skies are clear, always
watching, cold or torrid heat makes no difference, work goes on just
the same.

“I became deeply impressed with the necessity of obedience to laws.

I said once to Percival that I had been asked if it were true that he
was an atheist, a non-believer. His answer was that he believed in
keeping the laws; what chaos would happen if they were not. Often
he would quote passages from the Bible—[Genesis I, 14-20]. The
laws made on Mount Sinai, he said, are still the same laws to obey.
To live in the atmosphere of such men accomplishing great things,
deprived of many material comforts, makes one feel humble and
spurs one on to ‘Help and not to hinder.’

“Servants we often had to do without. They would come out with us,
and then after a few days, learning of the nearness to the Pacific
coast, the lure of California would bring from them some lame excuse
to leave, at once! To obtain others, when none were to be had in the
town, I would have to go to Los Angeles. Finally, after several had
left, I persuaded Percival to let me try to do the cooking; and later he
would refer to that time as happy peaceful days. With the help of the
kind wives, Mrs. Slipher and Mrs. Lampland, I learned much, 152
how to make bread and soup,—two very essential articles in
our household,—and to get up camping outfits and quick meals for
unexpected guests.

“Lonesome, monotonous—never. Distant as Mars Hill may be from

large cities, something of interest was happening continually. The
State Normal School of Arizona is in the town, and on certain nights
classes of students were brought up the hill to look through the
telescope. Flagstaff is on the main line of the Santa Fe. There were
three incoming trains from the East each day, and as many from the
West, and many people stop off there to visit the different points of
interest, the Lowell Observatory being one.

“In August, 1910, a group of astronomers, representing the

International Union for Coöperation in Solar Research, debarked from
the train, on their way to Pasadena; Professor Herbert H. Turner from
England among them. He it was who many years later suggested for
Percival’s ‘Planet X’ the name Pluto. The group, of about thirty,
arrived by the first morning train and stayed at the Observatory until
the last train left at night. The one thing that I was successful in
getting enough of for lunch and dinner was watermelon. It proved a
happy hit; for a year or two afterward, when telling how much they
enjoyed their visit, the watermelons were spoken of as being such a
treat. It was a hot day and the melons were cold; probably that
explained their enthusiasm.

“One Christmas we invited all the children of Flagstaff to come to the

Observatory for a Christmas tree and supper. Percival dressed as
Santa Claus and spoke to them down the chimney; then he came
down into the Library where they were gathered about the tree, and
gave a present and candy to every child. That was twenty- 153
seven years ago. When I was in Flagstaff this spring, the little
child I had held in my lap while Percival read ‘The Night Before
Christmas’ came to speak to me and told me never would she forget
that Christmas, and that her two little children repeatedly asked her
to tell them the story of that Christmas and all that happened at the
Santa Claus party on Mars Hill.”

In a recent letter to Mrs. Lowell, Dr. Lampland also gives a glimpse

into Percival’s life at Flagstaff; and though written to refresh her
recollections she preferred to insert it as it stands.

“Fresh in memory and pleasant to recall are your many visits to

Flagstaff and your activities at the Observatory, where you were
designing and supervising architect, carrying through the additions to
the director’s residence, the garage, and the new administration
building. And I also remember your valued help to us in connection
with the house in which we live and your telegram ‘Mr. Lowell gives
benediction and sanction to plans. Proceed.’”

He then goes on to tell of Percival’s friends from both West and East,
and continues:
“You remember he was an enthusiastic gardener and always had a
garden here at the Observatory. He had great success with many
flowers and I recall especially fine displays of hollyhocks, zinnias, and
a considerable variety of bulbs. Gourds, squashes and pumpkins were
also great favorites. You will remember one year the especially fine
collection of gourds and that bumper crop of huge pumpkins, many
prize specimens being sugar fed. At times Dr. Lowell could be seen in
the short intervals he took for outdoor recreation, busy with 154
his little camel’s hair brush pollenizing some of the flowers.
And perhaps you will remember the little record book lying on the
back veranda containing his observations of the daily growth of the
diameter of the gourds, all measured carefully with little calipers.
Then the frequent, almost daily, walks on the mesa. Certainly he
knew all the surrounding country better than anyone here. He would
refer to the different places such as Wolf Canyon, Amphitheatre
Canyon, Indian Paint Brush Ridge, Holly Ravine, Mullein Patch, etc. In
these walks he seemed to be constantly observing something new
and of course trees, flowers, and wild life always interested him.
Trees were an endless source of interest to him and he took many
trips to more distant localities for these studies. Cedars or junipers
seemed to be favorite subjects for study, though other varieties or
kinds were not overlooked. An oak and an ash were named after him,
new species that were discovered on the Observatory mesa and in
Sycamore Canyon.

“At every season of the year he always found something in wild life to
fascinate him, and you will remember his observations and notes of
butterflies, birds, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes, deer and other
inhabitants of the mesa. These friends must never be disturbed or
harmed. But it was permissible to hunt with a camera! And he himself
delighted with his kodak, photographing footprints, etc., and often
attempting to get exposures of the creatures themselves. The
Observatory grounds were a sanctuary for wild life.

“For many of us an interesting side of eminent personages is to know

something about their activities, such for example as reading, 155
outside of their professional occupations. In Dr. Lowell’s case you
should find ample opportunity to treat a subject that will not admit of
monotony. It would seem that practically every field of knowledge
interested him. For the lighter reading as a relaxing and restful
diversion you will remember the full bookshelves of detective stories,
travel, exploration, etc. Accounts of adventure and discoveries, if well
written, were welcome to his list of miscellaneous reading. The Latin
classics were always near at hand, and widely and well had he read
them, and much were they prized as friends in his later life.

“As you know, it is not easy for the observing astronomer to lead a
strictly regular life in that the hours at the telescope often make it
necessary to use, for the much needed rest, part of the daily hours
usually given to work. His intense occupation with his research
problems, however, was broken with great regularity for short
intervals before lunch and dinner. These times of recreation were
given to walks on the mesa or work in the garden. When night came,
if he was not occupied at the telescope, he was generally to be found
in his den. It was not always possible for him to lay aside his research
problems at this time of the day, but he did have some wholesome
views on the necessity of recreation and a necessary amount of
leisure to prevent a person from falling into the habit of the ‘grind.’ To
those who came to his den the picture of some difficult technical
work near his chair, such as Tisserand’s Mechanique Celeste will be
recalled, though he might at the time be occupied with reading of a
lighter character. And occasionally during the evening he might be
seen consulting certain difficult parts upon which he was
pondering....

“The famous outing to the White Mountains was often the 156
subject of much amusement at the dinner parties when Dr.
Lowell and Judge Doe were both there. In later years that famous
expedition seemed to be an inexhaustible source of fun—the
voracious mosquitoes, the discomforts of a camp and beds under
water, atrocious coffee, and so on!!
“And this reminds me of many dinner parties on Dr. Lowell’s and
Judge Doe’s birthdays. These were jolly gatherings, and the brilliant
repartee passing between Dr. Lowell and the Judge was a great
delight to those who were present.

“Many things about the place often remind me of the intensely busy
days before Dr. Lowell passed away. There were several excursions
for his tree studies, to Sycamore Canyon, an arduous trip, and to
other localities near Flagstaff for further studies of different species of
junipers in their native habitat. The specimens were carefully sorted
and packed for Professor Sargent of the Arnold Arboretum. Then I
remember helping him plant many bulbs on the last two days before
he was fatally stricken. The squills he planted at that time in the little
bed under the oak tree near the entrance of the B. M. return every
[34]
spring.”

157
 CHAPTER XVII
THE EFFECT OF COMMENSURATE
PERIODS
The Asteroids and Saturn’s Rings
Ever inquiring, ever fertile, his mind turned to seek the explanation of
divers astronomical phenomena. In 1912, for example, under the title
“Precession and the Pyramids,” we find him discussing in the Popular
Science Monthly the pyramid of Cheops as an astronomical
observatory, with its relation to the position of the star then nearest
to the North Pole, its lines of light and shadow, in a great gallery
constructed with the object of recording the exact changes in the
seasons.

But leaving aside these lesser interests, and the unbroken systematic
observation of the planets, his attention in the later years of his life
was chiefly occupied by two subjects, not unconnected, but which
may be described separately. They are, first, the influence over each
other’s position and orbits of two bodies, both revolving about a far
larger one; and, second, the search for an outer planet beyond the
path of Neptune. Each of these studies involved the use of
mathematics with expanding series of equations which no one had
better attempt to follow unless he is fresh and fluent in such forms of
expression. For accurate and quantitative results they are 158
absolutely essential, but an impression of what he was striving
to do may be given without them.

Two bodies revolving about a common centre at different distances,

and therefore different rates of revolution, will sometimes be on the
same side of the central body, and thus nearer together; sometimes
on opposite sides, when they will be much farther apart. Now it is
clear that the attraction of gravity, being inversely as the square of
the distance, will be greatest when they are nearest together; and if
this happens at the same point in their orbits every time they
approach each other the effect will be cumulative, and in the
aggregate much larger than if they approach at different parts of
their orbits and hence pull each other sometimes in one direction and
sometimes in another. To use a homely, and not altogether apt,
illustration: If a man, starting from his front door, walk every day
across his front lawn in the same track he will soon make a beaten
path and wear the grass away. If, instead, he walk by this path only
every other day and on the alternate days by another, he will make
two paths, neither of which will be so much worn. If he walk by three
tracks in succession the paths will be still less worn; and if he never
walk twice in the same place the effect on the grass will be
imperceptible.

Now, if the period taken by the outer body to complete its orbit be
just twice as long as that taken by the inner, they will not come close
together again until the outer one has gone round once to the inner
one’s twice, and they will always approach at the same point in their
orbits. Hence the effects on each other will be greatest. If the outer
one take just two turns while the inner takes three they will 159
approach again only at the same point, but less frequently; so
that the pull will be always the same, but repeated less often. This
will be clearly true whenever the rates of the revolution differ by
unity: e.g., 1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, etc.

Take another case where the periods differ by two; for example,
where the inner body revolves about the central one three times
while the outer one does so once; in that case the inner one will
catch up with the outer when the latter has completed half a
revolution and the inner one and a half; and again when the outer
has completed one whole revolution and the inner three. In this case
there will be two strong pulls on opposite sides of the orbits, and, as
these pulls are not the same, the total effect will be less than if there
were only one pull in one direction. This is true whenever the periods
of revolution differ by two, e.g., 1 to 3, 3 to 5, 5 to 7. If the periods
differ by three the two bodies will approach three times,—once at the
starting point, then one third way round, and again two thirds way
round, before they reach the starting point; three different pulls
clearly less effective.

In cases like these, where the two bodies approach in only a limited
number of places in their orbits the two periods of revolution are
called commensurate, because their ratio is expressed by a simple
fraction. The effect is greater as the number of such places in the
orbit is less, and as the number of revolutions before they approach
is less. But it is clearly greater than when the two bodies approach
always at different places in their orbits, never again where they have
done so before. This is when the two periods are incommensurate, so
that their ratio cannot be expressed by any vulgar fraction. 160
One other point must be noticed. The commensurate orbit,
and hence the distance from the Sun, and the period of revolution, of
the smaller and therefore most affected body, may not be far from a
distance where the orbits would be incommensurate. To take the
most completely incommensurate ratio known to science, that of the
diameter of a circle to the circumference, which has been carried out
to seven hundred decimal places without repetition of the figures.
This is expressed by the decimal fraction .314159 etc. and yet this
differs from the simple commensurate 1/3 or .333333 etc. by only
about five per cent.; so that a smaller body may have to be pulled by
the larger, only a very short way before it reaches a point where it
will be seriously affected no more.

The idea that commensurateness affects the mutual attraction of

bodies, and hence the perturbations in their orbits, especially of the
smaller one, was not new; but Percival carried it farther, and to a
greater degree of accuracy, by observation, by mathematics and in its
applications. The most obvious example of its effects lay in the
influence of Jupiter upon the distribution of the asteroids, that almost
innumerable collection of small bodies revolving about the Sun
between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, of which some six hundred
had been discovered. These are so small, compared with Jupiter,
that, not only individually but in the aggregate, their influence upon it
may be disregarded, and only its effect upon them be considered. In
its immediate neighborhood the commensurate periods, Percival
points out, come so close together (100 to 101, 99 to 100, etc.) that
although occasions of approach would be infrequent they would be
enough in time to disturb any bodies so near, until the planet 161
had cleared out everything in its vicinity that did not, by
revolving around it, become its own satellite.

Farther off Jupiter’s commensurate zones are less frequent, but

where they occur the fragments revolving about the Sun would be so
perturbed by the attraction of the planet as to be displaced, mainly,
as Percival points out, to the sunward side. This has made gaps bare
of such fragments, and between them incommensurate spaces where
they could move freely in their solar orbits. Here they might have
gathered in a nucleus and, collecting other fragments to it, form a
small planet, were it not that the gaps were frequent enough to
prevent nuclei of sufficient size arising anywhere. Thus the asteroids
remained a host of little bodies revolving about the Sun, with gaps in
their ranks—as he puts it “embryos of planets destined never to be
born.”

The upper diagram in the plate opposite page 166 shows the
distribution and relative densities of the asteroids, with the gaps at
the commensurate points. The plate is taken from his “Memoir on
[35]
Saturn’s Rings,” and brings us to another study of commensurate
periods with quite a different set of bodies obeying the same law.
Indeed, among the planets observed at Flagstaff not the least
interesting was Saturn, and its greatest peculiarity was its rings.

In Bulletin No. 32 of the Observatory (Nov. 24, 1907) Percival had

written: “Laplace first showed that the rings could not be, as they
appear, wide solid rings inasmuch as the strains due to the differing
attraction of Saturn for the several parts must disrupt them. Peirce
then proved that even a series of very narrow solid rings could not
subsist and that the rings must be fluid. Finally Clerk-Maxwell 162
showed that even this was not enough and that the rings to
be stable must be made up of discrete particles, a swarm of
meteorites in fact. But, if my memory serves me right, Clerk-Maxwell
himself pointed out that even such a system could not eternally
endure but was bound eventually to be forced both out and in, a part
falling upon the surface of the planet, a part going to form a satellite
farther away.

“Even before this Edward Roche in 1848 had shown that the rings
must be composed of discrete particles, mere dust and ashes. He
drew this conclusion from his investigations on the minimum distance
at which a fluid satellite could revolve around its primary without
being disrupted by tidal strains.

“The dissolution which Clerk-Maxwell foresaw can easily be proved to

be inevitable if the particles composing the swarm are not at
considerable distances from one another, which is certainly not the
case with the rings as witnessed by the light they send us even
allowing for their comminuted form. For a swarm of particles thus
revolving round a primary are in stable equilibrium only in the
absence of collisions. Now in a crowded company collisions due either
to the mutual pulls of the particles or to the perturbations of the
satellites must occur. At each collision although the moment of
momentum remains the same, energy is lost unless the bodies be
perfectly elastic, a condition not found in nature, the lost energy
being converted into heat. In consequence some particles will be
forced in toward the planet while others are driven out and eventually
the ring system disappears.

“Now the interest of the observations at Flagstaff consists in 163

their showing us this disintegration in process of taking place
and furthermore in a way that brings before us an interesting case of
celestial mechanics.”
He examines the rings mathematically, as the result of perturbations
caused by the two nearest of the planet’s satellites, Mimas and
Enceladus.

The effect is the same that occurs in the case of Jupiter and the
asteroids, Saturn taking the place of the Sun, his satellites that of
Jupiter, and the rings that of the asteroids. In spite of repetition it
may be well to state in his own words the principle of commensurate
[36]
periods and its application to the rings:

“The same thing can be seen geometrically by considering that the

two bodies have their greatest perturbing effect on one another when
in conjunction and that if the periods of the two be commensurate
they will come to conjunction over and over in these same points of
the orbit and thus the disturbance produced by one on the other be
cumulative. If the periods are not commensurate the conjunctions
will take place in ever shifting positions and a certain compensation
be effected in the outstanding results. In proportion as the ratio of
periods is simple will the perturbation be potent. Thus with the ratio
1:2 the two bodies will approach closest only at one spot and always
there until the perturbations induced themselves destroy the
commensurability of period. With 1:3 they will approach at two
different spots recurrently; with 1:4 at three, and so on....

“We see, then, that perturbations, which in this case will result in
collisions, must be greatest on those particles which have periods
commensurate with those of the satellites. But inasmuch as 164
there are many particles in any cross-section of the ring there
must be a component of motion in any collision tending to throw the
colliding particles out of the plane of the ring, either above or below
it.

“Considering, now, those points where commensurability exists

between the periods of particle and satellite we find these in the
order of their potency:
 With Mimas, 1:2
1:3
1:4
With Enceladus, 1:3

2:3 of Mimas and 1:2; 2:3 of Enceladus falling outside the ring
system. 1:2 of Mimas and 1:3 of Enceladus fall in Cassini’s division,
which separates ring A from ring B.... 1:3 of Mimas’ period falls at the
boundary of ring B and ring C at 1:50 radii of Saturn from the
centre.”

In the following years this supposition was reinforced by the

discovery of six new divisions in the rings. Three of them were in ring
A and three in ring B, two of them in each case seen by Percival for
the first time. This led to very careful measurements of Saturn’s ball
and rings in 1913-14 and again in 1915; recorded in Bulletins 66 and
68 of the Observatory. Careful allowance was made for irradiation,
and the results checked by having two sets of measurements, one
made by Percival, the other by Mr. E. C. Slipher. The observations
were, of course, made when the rings were so tilted to the Earth as
to show very widely, the tilt on March 21, 1915, showing them at
their widest for fifteen years.

But unfortunately, as it seemed, the divisions in the rings did 165

not come quite where the commensurate ratios with the two
nearest satellites should place them. They came in the right order
and nearly where they ought to be, but always a little farther from
Saturn. It occurred to Percival that this might be due to an error in
the calculation of the motion of the rings, that if the attraction of
Saturn were slightly more than had been supposed the revolutions of
all parts of the rings would be slightly faster, and the places in them
where the periods would be commensurate with the satellites would
be slightly farther out, that is where the divisions actually occur.
Everyone knows that the earth is not a perfect sphere but slightly
elliptical, or oblate, contracted from pole to pole and enlarged at the
equator; and the same is even more true of Saturn on account of its
greater velocity of rotation. Now its attraction on bodies as near it as
the rings, and to a less extent on its satellites, is a little greater than
it would be if it were a perfect uniform sphere; and it would be
greater still if it were not uniform throughout, but composed of layers
increasing in density, in rapidity of rotation, and hence in oblateness,
toward the centre. Percival made, therefore, a highly intricate
calculation on what the attraction of such a body would be
(“Observatory Memoir on Saturn’s Rings,” Sept. 7, 1915), and found
that it accounted almost exactly for the discrepancy between the
points of computed commensurateness and the observed divisions in
the rings. Such a constitution of Saturn is by no means improbable in
view of its still fluid condition and the process of contraction that it is
undergoing. He found it noteworthy that a study of the perturbations
of the rings by the satellites should bring to light the invisible
constitution of the planet itself:

“Small discrepancies are often big with meaning. Just as the 166
more accurate determination of the nitrogen content of the air
led Sir William Ramsay to the discovery of argon; so these residuals
between the computed and the observed features of Saturn’s rings
seem to lead to a new conception of Saturn’s internal constitution.
That the mere position of his rings should reveal something within
him which we cannot see may well appear as singular as it is
significant.” (p. 5); and he concludes: (pp. 20-22).

“All this indicates that Saturn has not yet settled down to a uniform
rotation. Not only in the spots we see is the rate different for
different spots but from this investigation it would appear that the
[37]
speed of its spin increases as one sinks from surface to centre.

“The subject of this memoir is of course two-fold: first, the observed

discrepancy, and second, the theory to account for it. The former
demands explanation and the latter seems the only way to satisfy it.
From the positions of the divisions in its rings we are thus led to
believe that Saturn is actually rotating in layers with different
velocities, the inside ones turning the faster. If these layers were two
only, or substantially two, this would result in Saturn’s being
composed of a very oblate kernel surrounded by a less oblate husk of
cloud.”

ASTEROIDS and SATURN’S RINGS

The divisions so made in Saturn’s rings by its satellites may be 167

seen in the lower of the two diagrams opposite; the three
fractions followed by an E indicating the divisions caused by
Enceladus, the rest those caused by Mimas. The upper diagram
represents, as already remarked, the similar effects by Jupiter on the
asteroids. A slight inspection shows their coincidence.

168
 CHAPTER XVIIII
THE ORIGIN OF THE PLANETS
In a paper presented to the American Academy in April, 1913, and
[38]
printed in their Memoirs Percival explained the “Origin of the
Planets” by the same principle of commensurate periods. In addition
to what has already been said about the places where these periods
occur coming closer and closer together as an object nears the
planet, so that it is enabled to draw neighboring small bodies into
itself, he points out that in attracting any object outside of its own
orbit a planet is acting from the same side as the Sun thereby
increasing the Sun’s attraction, accelerating the motion of the particle
and making it come sunward. Whereas on a particle inside its orbit
the planet is acting against the Sun, thereby diminishing its
attraction, slowing the motion of the particle and causing it to move
outward. “Thus a body already formed tends to draw surrounding
matter to itself by making that matter’s mean motion nearly
synchronous with its own.” These two facts, the close—almost
continuous—commensurate points, and the effects on the speed of
revolution of particles outside and inside its own orbit, assist a
nucleus once formed to sweep clear the space so far as its influence
is predominant, drawing all matter there to itself, until it has attained
its full size. “Any difference of density in a revolving nebula is 169
thus a starting point for accumulation. So soon as two or
three particles have gathered together they tend by increased mass
to annex their neighbors. An embryo planet is thus formed. By the
same principle it grows crescendo through an ever increasing sphere
of influence until the commensurate points are too far apart to bridge
by their oscillation the space between them.”
So much for the process of forming a planet; but what he was
seeking was why the planets formed just where they did. For this
purpose he worked out intricate mathematical formulae, based on
those already known but more fully and exactly developed. These it is
not necessary to follow, for the results may be set forth,—so far as
possible in his own words. “Beyond a certain distance from the planet
the commensurate-period swings no longer suffice to bridge the
intervening space and the planet’s annexing power stops. This
happens somewhat before a certain place is reached where three
potent periodic ratios succeed each other—1:2, 2:5, 1:3. For here the
distances between the periodic points is greatly increased....

“At this distance a new action sets in. Though the character of its
occasioning be the same it produces a very different outcome. The
greater swing of the particles at these commensurate points together
with a temporary massing of some of them near it conduces to
collisions and near approaches between them which must end in a
certain permanent combining there. A nucleus of consolidation is thus
formed. This attracts other particles to it, gaining force by what it
feeds on, until out of the once diffused mass a new planet comes into
being which in its turn gathers to itself the matter about it.

“A new planet tends to collect here: because the annexing 170

power of the old has here ceased while at the same time the
scattered constituents to compose it are here aided to combine by
the very potent commensurability perturbations of its already formed
neighbor.

“So soon as it has come into being another begins to be beyond it,
called up in the same manner. It could not do so earlier because the
most important deus ex machina in the matter, the perturbation of its
predecessor, was lacking.

“So the process goes on, each planet acting as a sort of elder sister
in bringing up the next.
“That such must have been the genesis of the several planets is
evident when we consider that had each arisen of itself out of
surrounding matter there would have been in celestial mechanics
nothing to prevent their being situated in almost any relative
positions other than the peculiar one in which they actually stand....

“It will be noticed that the several planets are not quite at the
commensurate points. They are in fact all just inside them....
Suppose now a particle or planet close to the commensurable point
inside it. The mean motion in consequence of the above perturbation
will be permanently increased, and therefore the major axis be
permanently decreased. In other words, the particle or planet will be
pushed sunward. If it be still where” the effect of the
commensurateness is still felt “it will suffer another push, and so on
until it has reached a place where the perturbation is no longer
sensible.” He then goes on to show from his formulae that if the
particle were just within the outer edge of the place where the
perturbation began to be effective it would also be pushed 171
sunward, and so across the commensurable point until it
joined those previously displaced.

“We thus reach from theory two conclusions:

“1. All the planets were originally forced to form where the important
and closely lying commensurable points 1:2, 2:5, or 1:3, and in one
case 3:5, existed with their neighbors; which of these points it was
being determined by the perturbations themselves.

“2. Each planet was at the same time pushed somewhat sunward by
perturbation.”

He then calculates the mutual perturbations of the major axes of the

outer planets taken in pairs and of Venus and the Earth.

“From them we note that:

“1. The inner planet is caeteris paribus more potent than the outer.
“2. The greater the mass of the disturber and, in certain cases, the
greater the excentricity of either the disturber or the disturbed the
greater the effect.”

As he points out, the effect of each component of the pair is masked

by the simultaneous action of the other, and refers to the case of
Jupiter and the asteroids, where the effect they have upon it is
imperceptible, and we can see its effect upon them clearly.

Thus he shows that a new planet would naturally arise near to a

point where its orbit would be commensurate with that of the older
one next to it. But the particular commensurate fraction in each case
is not so certain. In general it would depend upon the ratio of the
two pulls to each other, for if “the action of the more potent planet
greatly exceeds the other’s it sweeps to itself particles farther away
than would otherwise be possible”; if it does not so greatly 172
exceed it would not sweep them from so far and hence allow
the other planet to form nearer. Now of the four commensurate ratios
mentioned, near which a planet may form its neighbor, that of 3:5
means that the two planets are relatively nearest together, for the
inner one makes only five revolutions while the outer makes three,
that is the inner one revolves around the Sun less than twice as fast
as the outer one. The ratio 1:2 means that the inner one revolves
just twice as fast as the outer; while 2:5 means that it revolves twice
and a half as fast, and 1:3 that it does so three times as fast. Thus
the nearer equal the pulls of any pair of forming planets the larger
the fraction and the nearer the relative distance between them.
Relative, mind, for as we go away from the Sun all the dimensions
increase and the actual distances between the planets among the
rest.

Venus is smaller than the Earth, but her interior position gives her an
advantage more than enough to make up for this, with the result that
the pulls of the two are more nearly equal than those of any other
pair, the commensurate ratio being 3:5. The next nearest equality of
pull is between Uranus and Neptune, where the commensurate ratio
is 1:2; the next between Jupiter and Saturn, and Venus and Mercury,
where it is 2:5; the least equality being between Saturn and Uranus,
where it is only 1:3. Mars seems exceptional for, as Percival says,
from the mutual pulls we should expect its ratio with the Earth to be
1:3 instead of 1:2 as it is, and he suggests as the explanation, “the
continued action of the gigantic Jupiter in this territory, or it may be
that a second origin of condensation started with the Earth while
Jupiter fashioned the outer planets.”

He brings the Memoir to an end with the following summary: 173

“From the foregoing some interesting deductions are possible:

“1. The planets grew out of scattered material. For had they arisen
from already more or less complete nuclei these could not have
borne to one another the general comensurate relation of mean
motions existent to-day.

“2. Each brought the next one into being by the perturbation it
induced in the scattered material at a definite distance from it.

“3. Jupiter was the starting point, certainly as regards the major
planets; and is the only one among them that could have had a
nucleus at the start, though that, too, may equally have been lacking.

“4. After this was formed Saturn, then Uranus, and then Neptune.”
(This he shows from the densities of these planets.)

“5. The asteroids point unmistakably to such a genesis, missed in the

making.

“6. The inner planets betray inter se the action of the same law, and
dovetail into the major ones through the 2:5 relation between Mars
and the asteroids.

“We thus close with the law we enunciated: Each planet has formed
the next in the series at one of the adjacent commensurable-period
points, corresponding to 1:2, 2:5, 1:3, and in one instance 3:5, of its
mean motion, each then displacing the other slightly sunward, thus
making of the solar system an articulated whole, an inorganic
organism, which not only evolved but evolved in a definite order, the
steps of which celestial mechanics enables us to retrace.

“The above planetary law may perhaps be likened to 174

Mendelief’s law for the elements. It, too, admits of prediction.
Thus in conclusion I venture to forecast that when the nearest trans-
Neptunian planet is detected it will be found to have a major axis of
very approximately 47.5 astronomical units, and from its position a
mass comparable with that of Neptune, though probably less; while,
if it follows a feature of the satellite systems which I have pointed out
elsewhere, its excentricity should be considerable, with an inclination
to match.”

The last paragraph we shall have reason to recall again.

This paper on the “Origin of the Planets” has been called the most
speculative of Percival’s astronomical studies, and so it is; but it
fascinated him, and is interesting not more in itself, than as an
illustration of the inquiring and imaginative trend of his mind and of
the ease with which intricate mathematical work came to the aid of
an idea.

Meanwhile his reputation was growing in Europe. At the end of 1909

he is asked to send to the German National Museum in Munich some
transparencies of his fundamental work on Mars and other planets
with Dr. Slipher’s star spectra, and Dr. Max Wolf of Heidelberg who
writes the letter adds: “I believe there is no American astronomer,
except yours, [sic] invited till now to do so.” A year later the firm in
Jena which had just published a translation of his “Soul of the Far
East” wants to do the same for “Mars as the Abode of Life.” In August
1914 he writes to authorize a second French edition of this last book
which had been published with the title “Evolution des Mondes.”
Every other year, he took a vacation of a few weeks in Europe to visit
his astronomic friends, and to speak at their societies. We have seen
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