Radius

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For other uses, see Radius (disambiguation).

[edit] Circles

Circle illustration
Circle illustration

In classical geometry, a radius (plural: radii) of a circle or sphere is any line segment from its center to its perimeter. By extension, the radius of a circle or sphere is the length of any such segment. The radius is half the diameter. In science and engineering the term radius of curvature is commonly used as a synonym for radius.

More generally—in geometry, engineering, graph theory, and many other contexts—the radius of something (e.g., a cylinder, a polygon, a graph, or a mechanical part) is the distance from its center or axis of symmetry to its outermost points. In this case, the radius may be more than half the diameter.

The relationship between the radius and the circumference of a circle is r=\frac{c}{2\pi}.

To compute the radius of a circle going through three points P1,P2,P3, the following formula can be used:

r=\frac{|P_1-P_3|}{2\sin\theta}

where θ is the angle \angle P_1 P_2 P_3.

A radius may also be applied to arithmetic. Where 4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10 can be in a three number radius of 7.

[edit] Polygons

Regular polygons are sometimes said to have a radius, defined as the distance from the center to a vertex. This is the same as the radius of a circumscribed circle with the same center. This latter formulation is sometimes used to define the radius of an arbitrary polygon and is called the circumradius.

[edit] See also