osculating circle

American  

noun

Mathematics.

1. circle of curvature.

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Etymology

Origin of osculating circle

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

The osculating circle is tangent to a curve at a point and has the same curvature as the tangent curve at that point.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Figure 3.8 In this osculating circle, the circle is tangent to curve C at point P and shares the same curvature.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Find the equation of the osculating circle of the helix defined by the function y = x3 − 3x + 1 at x = 1.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

To find the equation of an osculating circle in two dimensions, we need find only the center and radius of the circle.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

For the osculating circle at any point includes the whole of the curve which lies beyond; and the successive convolutions envelop one another without intersection.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various