Cavalieri's principle in the context of "Cross section (geometry)"

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⭐ Core Definition: Cavalieri's principle

In geometry, Cavalieri's principle, a modern implementation of the method of indivisibles, named after Bonaventura Cavalieri, is as follows:

  • 2-dimensional case: Suppose two regions in a plane are included between two parallel lines in that plane. If every line parallel to these two lines intersects both regions in line segments of equal length, then the two regions have equal areas.
  • 3-dimensional case: Suppose two regions in three-space (solids) are included between two parallel planes. If every plane parallel to these two planes intersects both regions in cross-sections of equal area, then the two regions have equal volumes.

Today Cavalieri's principle is seen as an early step towards integral calculus, and while it is used in some forms, such as its generalization in Fubini's theorem and layer cake representation, results using Cavalieri's principle can often be shown more directly via integration. In the other direction, Cavalieri's principle grew out of the ancient Greek method of exhaustion, which used limits but did not use infinitesimals.

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Cavalieri's principle in the context of Archimedes

Archimedes of Syracuse (/ˌɑːrkɪˈmdz/ AR-kih-MEE-deez; c. 287 – c. 212 BC) was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, based on his surviving work, he is considered one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity, and one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying the concept of the infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove many geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, the area of an ellipse, the area under a parabola, the volume of a segment of a paraboloid of revolution, the volume of a segment of a hyperboloid of revolution, and the area of a spiral.

Archimedes' other mathematical achievements include deriving an approximation of pi (π), defining and investigating the Archimedean spiral, and devising a system using exponentiation for expressing very large numbers. He was also one of the first to apply mathematics to physical phenomena, working on statics and hydrostatics. Archimedes' achievements in this area include a proof of the law of the lever, the widespread use of the concept of center of gravity, and the enunciation of the law of buoyancy known as Archimedes' principle. In astronomy, he made measurements of the apparent diameter of the Sun and the size of the universe. He is also said to have built a planetarium device that demonstrated the movements of the known celestial bodies, and may have been a precursor to the Antikythera mechanism. He is also credited with designing innovative machines, such as his screw pump, compound pulleys, and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion.

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Cavalieri's principle in the context of Bonaventura Cavalieri

Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri (Latin: Bonaventura Cavalerius; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infinitesimal calculus, and the introduction of logarithms to Italy. Cavalieri's principle in geometry partially anticipated integral calculus.

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Cavalieri's principle in the context of Fubini's theorem

Fubini's theorem is a theorem in measure theory that gives conditions under which a double integral can be computed as an iterated integral, i.e. by integrating in one variable at a time. Intuitively, just as the volume of a loaf of bread is the same whether one sums over standard slices or over long thin slices, the value of a double integral does not depend on the order of integration when the hypotheses of the theorem are satisfied. The theorem is named after Guido Fubini, who proved a general result in 1907; special cases were known earlier through results such as Cavalieri's principle, which was used by Leonhard Euler.

More formally, the theorem states that if a function is Lebesgue integrable on a rectangle , then one can evaluate the double integral as an iterated integral: This formula is generally not true for the Riemann integral (however, it is true if the function is continuous on the rectangle; in multivariable calculus, this weaker result is sometimes also called Fubini's theorem).

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