Why are the parameterizations of the circle in cartesian coordinates defined in open intervals?

195 Views Asked by At

The parameterization of the circle in rectangular coordinates is given by the the following functions

$$ y = g_1(x) = \sqrt{(1-x^2)} \\ y = g_2(x) = -\sqrt{(1-x^2)} \\ x = g_3(y) = \sqrt{(1-y^2)} \\ x = g_4(y) = -\sqrt{(1-y^2)} $$

for $-1<x<1$ and $-1<y<1$. However the final two (or the first two) are only required because the interval where $x$ (or $y$) is defined is open. Why does that interval need to be open?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

1
On BEST ANSWER

Parametrizations are usually taken to be regular, i.e., continuously-differentiable with non-zero derivative.

The notion of differentiability at endpoints is a dicey matter in general, but for the functions $x \mapsto \pm\sqrt{1 - x^{2}}$ the problem is blunt: There's no differentiable extension to $[-1, 1]$, since the graphs have vertical tangents at the endpoints.