Cylinder (geometry)

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In mathematics, a cylinder is a quadric, i.e. a three-dimensional surface, with the following equation in Cartesian coordinates:

[\left(\frac\right)^2 + \left(\frac\right)^2 = 1]

This equation is for an elliptic cylinder, a generalization of the ordinary, circular cylinder (a = b). Even more general is the generalized cylinder: the cross-section can be any curve.

The cylinder is a degenerate quadric because at least one of the coordinates (in this case z) does not appear in the equation. By some definitions the cylinder is not considered to be a quadric at all.

In common usage, a cylinder is taken to mean a finite section of a right circular cylinder with its ends closed to form two circular surfaces, as in the figure (right). If the cylinder has a radius r and length h, then its volume is given by

[V = \pi r^2 h \,]

and its surface area is

[A = 2 \pi r^2 + 2 \pi r h = 2 \pi r ( r + h )\,]

For a given volume, the cylinder with the smallest surface area has h = 2r. For a given surface area, the cylinder with the largest volume has h = 2r.

There are other more unusual types of cylinders. These are the imaginary elliptic cylinders:

[\left(\frac\right)^2 + \left(\frac\right)^2 = -1]

the hyperbolic cylinder:

[\left(\frac\right)^2 - \left(\frac\right)^2 = 1]

and the parabolic cylinder:

[x^2 + 2y = 0 \,]

External links

[Spinning Cylinder] Math Is Fun

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