PathCurves

NCThomas,CEng,MIET

Introduction

GeometrymeansmeasuringtheEarth.ItwascertainlyknowntotheAncientEgyptiansfortheyuseditto
reestablish land boundaries after the Nile had flooded, and possibly before. However the systematic
developmentofthesubjectcomestousfromtheAncientGreeks,particularlyEuclid.Hesetforthanumber
ofaxiomsthataresupposedtobeselfevidentandthereforeinnoneedofproofe.g.giventwopointsthen
thereisonestraightlinejoiningthem.ThesewereusedtoproveothertheoremssuchasthatofPythagoras
(whichwasalreadyknowntotheEgyptiansandusedpractically).Mostofhisgeometryisbasedonthe
notions"length"and"angle"andmucheffortgoesintoprovingthatdistinctlengthsareorarenotequal,and
likewiseforanglese.g.anisoscelestrianglehastwoequalsides,anditisthenprovedthatitalsohastwo
equalangles.

Inwhatfollowswewillillustrateoursubjectratherthanprovealltheresultsformally.Furtherdetailsare
availableinthereferences.ThemethodsofGeorgeAdamsandLawrenceEdwardswillbeusedextensively.

ProjectiveGeometry

TheGreekmathematicianPappusprovedthefollowingtheorem:

Figure1

Wetakeanytwo(blue)linesandanythreepointsoneach(ABCandA'B'C').WejoinAB'andA'B
meetinginthepointLasshown.SimilarlyAC'andA'CmeetinM,andBC'andB'CinN.Pappusproved
thatthethreepointsLMandNalwayslieonastraightlinenomatterhowwechoosetheinitiallinesand
points.UnlikeEuclid'sapproach,thistheoremmakesnouseoflengthsoflinesoranglesbetweenthem:it
only concerns relationships. Itwas thefirsttheoremofwhatcenturies laterwasdevelopedfurther as
projectivegeometry,whichinthesamespiritmakesnouseoflengthsandangles(atleastinitspureform).

ThearchitectGirardDesarguesinthe17thCenturyprovedthenextveryfundamentaltheorem:
 Figure2
Twotrianglesareshown,oneyellowandonegreen.Theyaresuchthatwhencorrespondingverticesare
joined,thethreeresultingblacklinesmeetinapoint.Thenwhencorrespondingsidesareextendedtomeet,
thethreeresultingpointslieonastraightline.Theconverseisalsotrue:ifcorrespondingsidesmeetinthis
waythenthejoinsoftheverticesareconcurrent.Thisiswhatisknownasaselfdualtheorem,forifthree
linesmeetinapointthenthreepointslieonaline,andviceversa.Inotherwordspointandlinearedual:a
truestatementaboutpointsandlinesimpliesadualtruestatementwheretheirrolesarereversed.

Projectivegeometrydevelopedrapidlyinthefollowingcenturies,andmanybeautifultheoremswerefound
allbasedonrelationshipsandwithlittleregardforlengthsorangles.Thetwomostfundamentaloperations
performedareprojectionandsection:

Figure3

ProjectionistheoperationofprojectingthepointsABCDontheredlinefromthepointP,thecentreof
projection.Theresultisasetofbluelinescalledaflatpencil.Anynumberorallpointsofthelinemaybe
projected. Sectionisthedualoperationofcuttingapencilwithaline,seethegreenlineabove.Asetof
pointsonalineisdualtoapenciloflinesinapoint,andiscalledarangeofpoints,sowehaveprojecteda
rangeABCDintoapencilandthentakenasectiontoproduceasecondrangeA'B'C'D'. Twosuch
rangesaresaidtobeinperspective.Muchofprojectivegeometryisbasedonthesetwooperations.Ifwe
gofurtherandprojectthesecondrangefromsomeotherpointQtoproduceasecondpencilthenthelatteris
inperspectivewiththebluepencil:perspectivityisadualconcept.

IfwerepeattheseoperationsanumberoftimesweendupwithafinalrangeA"B"C"D"whichisnotnow
inperspectivewithABCD,butissaidtobe projective toit. Inotherwordsanumberofcombined
perspectivitiesyieldaprojectivity.IfthepairsofpointsAA",BB",CC"andDD"arejoinedtheresulting
linesenvelopeaconicsectionsuchasanellipseorahyperbola.Thisisillustratedbelowwherewehave
threeranges(andtwopencils)andcorrespondingpointsofthefirstandlastarejoinedbymagentalines
whicharetangentialtoanellipse:

Figure4

The process of findingthepoints onthefinalline correspondingtothoseonthefirstis also called a

projectivetransformation,andthefirstrange(anditsline)issaidtobetransformedintothefinalone.The
dualtransformationwouldtransformonepencilintoanother,andcorrespondinglineswouldmeetinpoints
lyingonanellipseorotherconicsection.

Measures

Thefollowingdiagramillustrateshowthismaybeappliedtotransformalineintoitself:

Figure5

WestartwiththeblackhorizontallinesandchooseapointAlyingonit.WeprojectAfromacentreP,and
thentakeasectionwithafixedgreenlineutogivethepointL.ThenwechooseasecondcentreQand
projectLbackontosagain,givingthepointB. Werepeattheprocess,projectingBfromPandthen
projectingfromQtheresultingpointonubackontosagaintogivethepointC.Andsoon...Theblueline
QPmeetssinthepointN.LetusseewhereNgoes:weprojectitfromPtogivethepointwheretheblue
lineintersectsu,andthenprojectthatfromQbackontosagain,onlytoendupwherewestarted!ThusNis
aselfcorrespondingpoint.ItcanbeseenthattherangeABCDisstartingtogetmorecrowdedtowards
N,andifweproceedwithfurtherpointsEF...afterDwefindtheygetcloserandclosertogetherwithout
everreachingN.TheycannotreachNforthefollowingreason.Theprocessisreversible,soifwestart
withD,thenwemayprojectitfromQtogiveapointonu,andthenprojectthatontosfromP,takingus
backwardstothepointC.So,ifsomepointZlongafterDcouldreachNonthenextstep,thenwecould
reversetheprocessandgobackwardsfromNtoZ,whichisnotpossibleasNstaysput.

SimilarlythepointMwhereumeetssisselfcorrespondingasiseasilyseen.Sotransformingsintoitself
gives a remarkableresult: twoofits points arefixedpoints andallothersmovealongtheline as the
transformationisrepeated,witha"gesture"ofexpansionandcontraction.ForapointstartingoffnearM
movestotherightinsmallstepsthatincreaseuntilitisnearBandthenthestepsgetsmalleragainasit
approachesN. IfwetakepointsontherightbeyondNthestepsincreasetoenormoussizeandthenthe
pointreappersattheotherendofsandheadsintowardsM!Thisshouldbetriedout;thetransformiseasy
toconstruct.Theideaoftransformingsomethingintoitselfisveryfundamentalinprojectivegeometryand
ofgreatimportanceasweshallsee.Thedualtransformationisthatofapencilintoitself,andindeedthered
pencilsinPandQaboveareundergoingjustthat.Thedynamicofthistransformationiscalledameasure,
andsinceithastwofixedpointsand"breathesbetweenthetwo"itissometimesreferredtoasabreathing
measure, or more formally a hyperbolic measure. Thus the term "measure" is used to refer to the
transformationprocessanditsterms(pointsorlines). Laterwewillseethattherearealsomeasuresof
planesinthreedimensions.

ReferringbacktoFigure5,wecouldarrangeforthelinesuandvtomeetons,inwhichcasethepointsM
and N would coincide. The resulting measure is called a step measure, or academically a parabolic
measure.ThereasonforthisnameisthatifwemovethepointM=Nindefinitelyfartothelefteventually
thetwolinesuandvwillbecomeparalleltos. Itisasifthethreelinesstillmeteventhoughtheyare
parallel, andwesaytheymeetinan idealpoint. Itisthoughtofasapointbecausetheconfiguration
behavesjustasifthethreelinesreallymet.Nowinthiscasethestepsofthemeasureallbecomeequal,
whichgivesrisetoitsname:

Figure6

Thesituationwithuandvmeetingonsisshownontheleft,togetherwiththestepmeasure,andthenthe
parallelcaseisshownontheright.Inpassing,wecouldhavemovedM=Ntotherightuntilanduandv
becameparallel,andwewouldendupwiththesameresultandthereforetheidealpointwouldbethesame.
Accordinglyitissaidinprojectivegeometrythatthereisonlyoneidealpointinwhichparallellinesmeet
(nottwo,oneateitherend!).Suchpointsarealsothoughtofasbeingatinfinity.Butusingtheconcept"at"
isproblematicwithoutconsiderableexplanationandwewillstaywiththeconceptofidealpoints.
Thereisathirdpossibility:thatthemeasurehasnofixedpoints.Thisiscalledacirclingmeasure,ormore
formallyanellipticmeasure.Itiseasiesttoconstructusingacircleinsteadofthetwolinesuandv:

Figure7

Thetwopencilsofredlinesarealsoincirclingmeasure.

Itmightbethoughttherecouldbethreeormorefixedpoints,butitturnsoutthatifathirdpointisself
correspondingthenallpointsonthelineareselfcorrespondingi.e.thewholethingfreezes.Theresultis
calledtheidentitytransformation.ThisiseasilyseenifwereversetheprocessinFigure5andsupposewe
startwiththefixedpointsMandNons,andthentakeAandBascorrespondingpoints.Wethenchoose
anylineucontainingM,andvcontainingN,andjoinAtosomepointPonvmeetinguinL.Finallywe
joinBandLmeetingvinQ,andwefindwehavesetupatransformationthatleavesMandNfixedwhile
transformingAintoB.NowsupposethatAisalsofixed.Tosetthisupweproceedasabove,butsince
B=A,thejoinofB=AandLmeetsvnotinaseparatepointQbutinPagain.Wethenfindthatwithonly
onecentreofprojectioneverypointonsistransformedintoitself,andweseewhytherecanbeatmosttwo
fixedpointsforapropermeasure.

TransformsofthePlane

Ifwecantransformalineintoitself,itisnaturaltoextendtheideatotransformingawholeplaneintoitself.
Thisisillustratedbelow.

Figure8
Thislookscomplicatedbutwewillsoonfindourwaythroughit.WehaveatriangleUVWandontheside
UVwehavesetupatransformationasinFigure5,withpointsA1B1C1beingtransformedusingthelineu1
andthecentresofprojectionP1andQ1.ThefixedpointsarenowUandV.SimilarlyforthesideVWwe
havecentresP2andQ2togetherwiththelineu2transformingA2toB2toC2.Wisathirdfixedpoint,and
generallyaplanehasthreefixedpoints. ThelineA1WtransformsintoB1WasA1 movestoB1 asWis
fixed.ThenB1WmovestoC1W.WhenA1movestoB1,A2movestoB2andthusthelineUA2movesto
UB2,asUisafixedpoint.ThepointLwhereUA2andWA1meetthusmovestoMwhereUB2andWB1
meet. Finally M moves to N where UC2 and C1W meet. This shows how points in the plane are
transformed,andsomespeciallines. HadwechosenLrandomlythenwewouldjoinWtoLinaline
meetingthelineUVinthepointA1,andalsowewouldjoinUtoLmeetingVWinA2.Thenwewould
transformA1toB1andA2toB2andfinallythelinesUB2andWB1wouldmeetinM,thetransformofL.
Thuseverypointintheplanecanbetransformedinthisway.Supposewewantedtotransformaline.It
wouldmeetUVandVWinpointsA1andA2respectively,say(linenotshown).WethentransformA 1and
A2givingthetransformedlineasB1B2.Thuseverylineintheplanecanbetransformed.Wenotethatthe
linesUVandVWarefixedlinesthattransformintothemselvessinceUVandWarefixed.ClearlyUWis
also fixed, so duality holds true, there being three fixed lines as well as three fixed points. Thus
transformingaplaneintoitselfleavesatrianglefixed,althoughthepointsotherthanUVandWmove
alongitssides.Thisisthegeneralcase,wherewehaveatrianglewithbreathingmeasuresonitssides.We
willseethatthereareotherpossibiliteswithothermeasures.

PathCurves

Butfirstofallwenowintroducetheideaofpathcurves.ReturningtoFigure8thesuccessivepointsLM
andNarenotquiteonastraightline;infacttheyareonacurvestrartingatV,passingthroughLMNand
endingupatW.Suchacurvealongwhichsuccessivepointsofatransformmoveiscalledapathcurve.
Thefollowingdiagramshowsthedualapproachtopathcurveswhichisinitiallysimpler:

Figure9
We show the triangle again with the two breathing measures on two of its sides. However we join
correspondingpointsofthemeasures,notingthatasonemovesuptheothermovesdown.Thebluejoining
linestouch(orenvelope)aredcurvewhichisthepathcurve.Wehaveusedfairlylargestepsbutwecould
inprinciplechoosemuchsmalleronesuntileventuallythewholecurvewouldbeenveloped.Anytangentto
thecurveistransformedintoanothertangenttoit.Duallyanypointonitis,usingthemethodofFigure8,
transformedintoanotherpointalsolyingonit.Thusalthoughallexceptthefixedpointsaremovinginthe
plane,thepathcurveitselfisafixedcurve.Wecouldhavejoinedthelowestpointonthelefttothesecond
highestontherightinsteadofthehighest,andproceededfromthere,whichwouldhavegivenanotherpath
curveofthefamily. Indeedthetriangleisfilledwithpathcurvesnoneofwhichcrosseachother. For
examplechooseapointofintersectionoftwobluelinesabovethepathcurveandthenfollowthediagonals
ofthelozengesandanotherpathcurveisevidenttotheimagination.Thewholefieldofpathcurvesinside
thetriangleisindicatedasfollows:

Figure10
EggForms

InFigure9wecanmovethetopvertexofthetriangleupwardsuntileventuallythetwolinesUVandWV
becomeparalleli.e.Vhasbecomeanidealpoint,andthenturnthediagramthrough90o.Theresultlooks
likethis:

Figure11
Notethatthelinesonwhichthecentresofthebluepencilsliearenowparalleltothetopandbottom
invariantlines.Onefixedpointofeachofthebreathingmeasuresisnowideal,illustratingagainhowsuch
pointsactlikeordinaryoneseveniftheyareinaccessible.Asaresultthepointsofeachmeasurearesuch
thattheirdistancesfromtheverticalaxisareingeometricprogression(explainedfullylater).

Thepathcurveisnowclearlyeggshaped.InfactitaccuratelydescribesmanyformsfoundinNaturesuch
asbirdseggs,plantbuds,pineconesandthehumanheart.Wewillreturntothepracticalresearchafterwe
haveshownthethreedimensionalaspectwhichgivescompleteeggs.

Vortices

In Figure 11 the measures on the top and bottom fixed lines move in opposite directions so that the
innermostpointofoneisjoinedtotheoutermostoftheother. Nowwereplacetheloweronewitha
breathingmeasureontheverticalaxis:

Figure12

Wedonotshowtheconstructionofthemeasuresnowthatweareusedtotheprocess. Theresultisa
vorticalpathcurvewhichtendstowardsthelowerfixedpointontheverticalaxis,andtowardstheideal
pointonthetopfixedline.Wemaynowvarythisintwoways:bymovingthetopinvariantpointonthe
verticalaxisupwardsuntilitbecomesanidealpoint,orinsteadmovingtheloweronedownwardsuntilit
becomesideal.Theresultsareshownbelow:

Figure13
Thepathcurveontheleftstartsfromthelowerfixedpointandexpandsoutwardsandupwardstowards
infinity,whilethepairontherightpassfromtheidealpointonthehorizontalfixedlinetothatonthe
verticalone.Thispathcurvewhensuitablyproportionedaccuratelyfitsactualwatervortexprofiles.

Spirals

Sofarwehaveonlyusedbreathingmeasures.Howeverwhenwepasstothreedimensionswewillneedthe
casewhereacirclingmeasureisusedinstead.ReferringtoFigure8whichweshowagainforconvenience:

notethatthebreathingmeasureonUVisprojectedfromWontothelinesUA2UB2andUC2i.e.allthelines
oftheflatpencilinUhaveasimilarbreathingmeasurebetweenUandthepointwheretheymeetVW.We
nowreplacethebreathingmeasureoflinescentredonUwithacirclingmeasureoflines.Therearenowno
fixedlinessoUVandUWnolongerexist,andthusthelineVWremainsbutwithoutVandW.However
thebreathingmeasuresonthelinesthroughUstillexist.Theresultisshownbelow:

Figure14
Thecirclingmeasureoflinesisshowntogetherwithonepathcurvewhichstartsfromthecentreofthe
pencilandtendsindefinitelytowardsthefixedline.Itcrossesthelinesofthepencilinsuccessivepointsof
thebreathingmeasureoneach.Ifwenowmovethefixedlinedownwardsuntilitbecomesideal(anideal
lineisoneallofwhosepointsareideal)thenwegetlogarithmicspirals:

Figure15

GeometricProgressionandSpirals

InconnectionwithFigure11wementionedthatthebreathingmeasureswerespecialbecauseoneoftheir
fixedpointsisideal.

Figure16

WhatthismeansisthattheratiosMA/MB,MB/MC,MC/MD...areallequal,sothereisadefinitenumber
ormultiplierwhichappliedtothelengthMAwillgiveMB,thentoMBgivesMCandsoon. Sucha
sequenceisknownasageometricprogression.Thisdepartsfromourinitialclaimthatprojectivegeometry
doesnotconcernlengths.Assoonasidealpointsareincludedaconnectionwithsocalledaffinegeometry
ismade.Affinegeometrytransformsidealpointsonlyintootheridealpoints;itnevertransformstheminto
ordinarypoints.Converselyitnevertransformsordinarypointsintoidealones.Theaboveconstructionis
affinebecausetheidealpointontheparallellinesisfixedi.e.itistransformedintoitselfandsoremains
ideal.Howeveronlyratiosoflengthsaresignificantinaffinegeometry,notlengthsinisolation.Thisis
becauseanaffinetransformationpreservesratiosbutnotlengths,asisclearintheabovetransformation
whereMAistransformedintoMBwhichhasadifferentlengthfromMA,solengthisnotconserved.This
specialformofthebreathingmeasureisalsoknownasagrowthmeasure.
The logarithmic spirals in Figure 15 cut a line through their centre in a geometric progression as we
illustratebelow:

Figure17

ThisspiralwindsoutmoreslowlythanthoseinFigure15toenableourdemonstrationtowork,butitisof
thesamefamily.Ageometricbreathingmeasurehasbeenconstructedwhichshowsthatthespiralcutsa
linethroughitscentreinageometricseries.Thisisindeedtrueofanylineatanyanglethroughthecentre.
ThisspiralisubiquitousinNaturebeingseeninNautilusPompiliumshells,sunflowersandsoon,andis
anothercaseofapathcurvethatdescribesnaturalforms.Itisnotmerelya"formfitting"exerciseaswe
willshowlater,butademonstrationandatestofsomeimportantscientificideas.

PolarTransformations

Sofarwehavestudiedtransformationswhichmovepointstootherlocationsandlinestootherlines.Itis
alsopossibletorelatepointstolinesandviceversa,givingpolartransformations.Thesimplestcasewas
alreadyimplicitinFigure3:byprojectingarangewetransformedpointsintoapenciloflines.However
thisisaratherlimitedexampleandabetteroneisshownbelow:

Figure18
OntheleftwetransformthepointPintothelinepusinganellipse.Themethodistodrawthetwotangents
totheellipsethroughP,andthenjointhetwopointsoftangency.Piscalledthepoleofp,andpthepolar
ofP.Anypointoutsidetheellipsemaybetransformedintoalineinthismanner.Converselyifwewishto
findthepoleofalinewedrawthetwotangentswhereitcutstheellipsetogivethepoleastheirpointof
intersection.Thusthetransformationisreciprocal.

OntherightweshowalinekcontainingfourpointsABCandD.Thepolarsabcanddrespectivelyare
seentomeetinapointKsothataflatpencilispolartoarangeandviceversa.Kandkarepoleandpolar.
ThissolvestheproblemoffindingthepolarofapointKlyinginsidetheellipse,forwetakeanytwolines
throughK,findtheirpolesandjointheresultingtwopointstogivek.Evidentlywehavealsosolvedthe
problemoffindingthepoleofalinethatdoesnotcuttheellipse.Nowwecansaythateverypointinthe
planehasapolarlineand viceversa,sothewholeplanehasbeentransformed. ApointPlyingonthe
ellipseispolartothetangentatPandviceversa.Suchpairsarespecialinthattheyareincident i.e.the
pointliesonitspolarline.Infactanyconicsectionmaybeusedtoestablishapolarityi.e.acircle,ellipse,
hyperbolaorparabola.

Atransformationrelatingpointstopointsandlinestolinesisformallycalledacollineation,whileapolarity
isanexampleofacorrelation.

WemayusetwopolaritiesalternatelysothatapointPistransformedintoalinepbythefirst,andthenpis
transformedintoanewpointQbethesecond,andsoon.ThepointsPQ...lieonapathcurve,andthe
linesp...envelopeadistinctpathcurveasillustratedbelow:

Figure19

ThepolarsofcompletefigurescanbefoundusingtheconstructionsofFigure18,andforexampleconic
sectionssuchasellipsestransformintoconicsections.
ThreeDimensionalProjectiveGeometry

Weworkedwithrangesandflatpencilsintheplane,andfoundmeasuresinboth.Inspaceanumberof
planesmayshareacommonline,givinganaxialpencilofplanes:

Figure20

Thecommonlineofthepenciliscalleditsaxis.Asshownanotherlineintersectsanaxialpencilinarange
ofpoints,andduallyaplanewouldintersectitinaflatpenciloflines.Wemayrelatetwoaxialpencilsin
twoways:bymakingthemsharearangeofpointsoraflatpenciloflines.Iftheyshareaflatpencilthen
theiraxesmustintersect,andifinthatcasetheplanecontainingtheiraxesisselfcorrespondingthenthe
pencils are said tobeinperspective. Iftheyshareacommonrangeandtheiraxesintersect in a self
correspondingplane,thenagaintheyareinperspective. Otherwisetheyareprojective. Iftheiraxesare
skew(i.e.donotintersect)thentheycannothaveacommonplaneandsoifrelatedtheyareprojective.Two
projectiveaxialpencilsintersectinaregulusi.e.correspondingplanesintersectinlineslyingonaregulus
illustratedbelow:

Figure21

Aregulusisasystemoflineswhichinfactextendtoinfinity,lyinginasurfacecalledaruledhyperboloid;
"ruled"becauseitssurfacecontainsstraightlines.Iftheaxesoftwoaxialpencilsintersectbuttheyarenot
inperspectivethenthissurfacebecomesacone.
Inthreedimensionswemaystudytransformationsofthewholeofspaceintoitself.Onemeasuredefineda
onedimensionaltransformationandtwoatwodimensionalone,soweexpectathreedimensionaloneto
require three measures, and that is in fact true. Before proceeding we should note that projective
transformationsbelongtoaspecialvarietycalled lineartransformations. Thisisbecausestraightlines
alwaystransformintootherstraightlines,neverintocurves,andplanesalwaystransformintoplanes,never
intocurvedsurfaces.Alsoincidenceispreservedi.e.ifapointliesonalinethenthetransformedpointwill
lie on the transformed line, and similarly for points and lines in planes. There are other interesting
transformationswherethisisnottruebuttheydonotconcernusjustnow.

Intheplanewehadaninvarianttriangle,andinspacethereisaninvarianttetrahedronwiththreedefined
breathingmeasuresonthreeofitsedges:

Figure22

TheverticesVWXYofthetetrahedronarefixedpoints,andgenerallytherearefourexceptinspecialcases.
WeshowthreebreathingmeasuresontheedgesXY,YVandWX.Totransformaplanesuchastheredone
abovewefindthethreepointsA1A2andA3whereitmeetsthelinesXY,WXandYV.ThenthepointsA1
A2andA3aretransformedbythemeasuresintoB1B2andB3whichdefinesthecyanplaneaboveintowhich
theredplaneistransformed.

Theeasiestwaytotransformapointistotakethreeplanescontainingitandfindtheirtransforms. The
transformedpointwillbethecommonpointofthelatter.ThuswetaketheplanecontainingVWandthe
pointP,andVYandP,andXWandP.TheplaneVWPintersectsXYinapointA 1whichistransformed
intoB1bythemeasure,givinganewplaneVWB1.SimilarlyVYPtransformsintoVYB2andXWPinto
XWB3.ThenthepointQintowhichPistransformedisthepointcommontotheplanesVWB1VYB2and
XWB3.Thisisnotsoeasytoillustrateclearly.Anotherapproachisshownbelow.
 Figure23

Concentrateontheredlinesfirst. WedrawthelineWPmeetingtheplaneXYVinG. NowjoinVG

meetingXYinA1andthenfindB1usingthemeasure.ThenjoinXGmeetingYVinA3,findB3,andjoin
XB3.SincethelinesVA1andXA3transformintoVB1andXB3thelattertwolinesmeetinapointHwhich
isthetransformofG. FinallythelineWHisthetransformofWG,soQmustlieonWH. Asimilar
procedureisfollowedforthecyanlinestransformingthelineVEthroughPtoVF,sothatQmustlieonVF.
ThusQ,thetransformofP,isthepointofintersectionofWHandVF. Everypointinspacemaybe
transformedintoanotherbythismeansorthepreviousapproachwithplanes,andwehaveseenthatevery
planemaybetransformed.Thatleaveslines.Theyaresimplenow.Supposethelinewewanttotransform
meetstheplaneXYVinthepointGinFigure23,andXYWinE.ThenwetransformGtoHandEtoFas
before,givingthejoinofHandFasthetransformedline.

IfwethentransformQintoaseriesofsubsequentpointswewillendupwithathreedimensionalpath
curve. Itwillbea twistedcurve incontrasttothoseinFigure10asitdoesnotlieinaplane. Wewill
illustratesomesignificantsuchcurvesinamomentwhenwehavemadeconnectionwithourpreviousstudy
ofeggprofiles.Weneedaspecialformoftetrahedronforthat,andaseggsarecircularlysymmetricalabout
anaxisweexpectcirclingmeasurestobeinvolved.Figure11givesusaclueastowhatweneed.Weseea
verticalinvariantlinewhichwillbetheaxisofsymmetryofourcompletethreedimensionalegg,andthe
two parallel horizontal invariant lines now represent two invariant planes seen edgeon. The growth
measures in the original lines are now those arising when they cut logarithmic spirals in the parallel
invariantplanes(asinFigure16).Thisisillustratedinthefollowingdiagram:
 Figure24

Onthelefttheoriginaltraingleisshowninblue,withtheverticalinvariantlineandthetwoinvariantpoints
XandYonit.ReferringtoFigure22(or23)wehavemovedXYintotheverticalandtheplanesXVWand
YVWhavebecomeparallelandatrightanglestoXY,withVWasanidealline.Howeverwehavetaken
twocirclingmeasuresoneineachplaneindicatedbythefactwedrawntheplanesascircles(inperspective).
ThelinesXVXWYVandYWaremissing,ashappenedtothelinesUVandUWwhenwepassedfrom
Figure8to14.Thetetrahedronishardlyrecognisablenow!Thepathcurvesinourtopandbottomplanes
are thus spirals as shown, noting that they wind in opposite senses. Now we come to the way the
transformationworks. IfwewishtotransformapointPwetaketheplaneXYP(shaded)andjoinXP
meetingthelowerplaneinVandYPmeetingtheupperplaneinU.Therewillbeonespiralpathcurve
throughUintheupperplaneandonethroughVinthelowerone(c.f.Figure15:thereisjustonepathcurve
througheverypointoftheplane).Wehaveselectedthecirclingmeasuressothatthespiralswindoutwards
inoppositesenses. Recallingthatthelinesofthecirclingmeasurerotatedabouttheinvariantpointin
Figure14,weexpectthelinesXUandXVtorotateaboutXandYrespectivelyi.e.theshadedplanerotates
aboutXYaswerepeatthetransformation,UthenfollowingitsspiralinwardstowardXandVmoving
outwardsalongitsspiralawayfromY.Theplanerotatesinthedirectionofthearrowaswekeeprepeating
thetransformationsothatPmovesupwardssinceUmovesintowardsXandVoutwardsawayfromY.A
seriesofpositionsofPareshowninthediagramontherightwheretheplanehascompletedonerotation.
TheylieonaspiralpathcurvewindingabouttheaxisXY.Werewetocontinue,Pwouldwindroundand
roundXYmovingeverclosertoX.OntheotherhandhadwegonebackwardsPwouldhavemovedever
closertoY.Itiscleartoseeinthisexamplethattheshadedplanecanrotatecontinuouslyandthusproduce
acontinouspathcurve.

HadweheldtheshadedplanefixedandrotatedthetetrahedronaboutXYthenPwouldhavemovedinthat
planetoformaneggshapedprofileasinFigure11. RecallingfromFigure17thataspiralpathcurve
relatestoagrowthmeasure,thesuccessivepositionsofUintheshadedplaneformaninwardmoving
growthmeasurewhilethoseofVformanoutwardmovingone,soeffectivelywehavetheconstructionof
Figure11takingplaceintheshadedplane.Thusweseethatthespiralisaneggspiral.Weshowbelowan
eggwithmanysuchpathcurves,recallingthatthecirclingmeasurescreatemanyspiralsasinFigure15,
whichthengiveusmanyeggspirals.
 Figure25

Thenextfigureshowsthepathcurvesofsuchasystemrelatedtoapinecone,asproducedbyLawrence
Edwards(Reference3):

Figure26
Theprofileisclearlyapathcurvebelongingtoawhole"field"ofsuchcurves,andthespiralversions
followthespiralsofthepinecone.

Hadthespiralswoundinthesamesensewewouldhaveobtainedavortexspiralasthiswouldbeequivalent
toFigure12intheshadedplane:

Figure27
DualApproach

Itwillbeimportantlatertounderstandthedualconstructionofpathcurvesinthreedimensions.Referring
toFigure24,wewouldstartwithaplaneratherthanapointPandtransformthat:

Figure28

Theinitialredplaneisshownshaded,intersectingtheupperfixedplaneinaline,andthereisonespiral
tangentialtothatatU.SimilarlyinthebottomplanethereisonespiraltangentialatV.Theredlinejoining
UandViscalledthepathline.ThetransformationsinthetopandbottomplaneswillmoveUandVtonew
positionsatwhichtwonewparallel(blue)tangentswillexistdefiningthenewblueplanecorrespondingto
theredone.Aftermanyrepetitionsofthetransformationasbefore,asetofplanesarisesdefiningapath
curveofthesamefamilyi.e.itlooksjustliketheoneinFigure24.Thisismoredifficulttovisualiseas
eachplaneistangentialtothatcurveinaspecialwaysuchthatitisanosculatingplane.

Figure29

Herewehaveshownapathcurvewithablueosculatingplanewherethecurvetouchesthatplaneattheblue
point,passingbehindtheplaneasitgoesdownwards.Strictlyspeakingtheplanesformwhatiscalleda
developablewhichisthedualofacurveofpoints.Suchadevelopablehasawelldefinededgeknownas
the cuspidaledge whichinthiscaseisthepathcurve. Whatwillbeimportantlateristhatifwetakea
definitepointonthecurveandanosculatingplanetangentialtothecurveatthatpoint,likethebluepair
above,thenthetransformationofspacewillmovethepointandplanesimultaneouslyalongthesamepath
curve. Thecurveiswovenduallyofplanesandpoints. Itisimportanttoemphasisethatalthoughthe
pointwiseapproachismucheasiertovisualise,itisonlyhalfthestory.

Parameters

Whencookingamealinanoventherearetwoimportantquantities:whatthetemperatureisandhowlong
themealisleftintheoven.Thetemperatureiscontrolledbye.g.thegasmarkwhichtypicallyvariesfrom0
to9.Thisnumberorquantityiscalledaparameter,theotherbeingthetimeinminutes.Parametersare
overallsettingsthatcontrolaprocess,usuallyexpressedassuitablenumbers.

Itwillbenoticedthattheeggformshaveagreatestradiusandareblunteratoneendandsharperatthe
other. ReferringbacktoFigure11wechosetwodifferentgrowthmeasuresonthetopandbottomfixed
lineswhichiswhythishappens.Ifthegrowthmeasuresarethesamethenthepathcurveprofilebecomes
anellipse.Howeverasthegrowthmeasuresbecomemoreandmoredifferenttheeggbcomesevermore
pointedandtheheightofthemaximumradiusmovesdownfromthecentralpositionbetweenthefixed
planes.ThetypeofeggcurveisdeterminedbyaparametersymbolisedbytheGreekletterwhichiseasily
calculatedasfollows:
d h
=
h

where d isthedistancebetweentheinvariantlines(orplanesinthethreedimensionalcase)and h isthe

heightatwhichthemaximumradiusoccurs.Thusifh=d/2givinganellipsethen=1,andashbecomes
eversmaller becomeseverlarger. Asimilarsituationoccursforvortices,butforthem isanegative
numberwhichisnotofcourserelatedtoamaximumradius.Thereisadeeperdefinitionofwhichwewill
cometolaterwhichembracesbothtypesofpathcurve.Thefollowingdiagramillustratesallthis:

Figure30
Thetoprowshowsasequenceofeggformswithincreasingvaluesasshown,withtheellipticalformon
theleft,andontheright=10,alreadygivinganearlyconicalform.Asincreasestowardsinfinitythe
formbecomesacone.Thecentrerowshowsthreeexamplesofdifferentvaluesforvortices.Thebottom
rowshowsaseriesofeggsallwiththesamevaluebutwithspiralsthatwindupwardsevermoresteeply.
Thenumbersrefertoanotherparameterwhichrelatestothesteepnessofthespirals,rangingfromvery
smallnumbersforslowlyascendingspiralstowardsinfinityasthespiralstendtowardsverticalprofiles.
ThesteepnessofthespiralsdependsuponthecirclingmeasuresusedinFigure24:iftheyarethesamethen
Pmovesroundacircleataconstantheight,and =0. Asthemeasuresbecomeevermoredistinctthe
spiralsinthetwofixedplanesdifferevermoregivingeversteeperspirals.Theparameteriscalculated
fromtherelationshipbetweenthetwomeasures.Thepointisthatnomatterhowlargeorsmall,orhowfat
orthintheeggorvortexis,theparametersandcontroltheshapeofthepathcurves.Formanysituations
thesetwoparameterssuffice,whichisascientifically"strong"situation.Athirdparameterisrequiredifwe
donothavesymmetryabouttheverticalaxise.g.foraspiralsurface:

Figure31

Herethehorizontalcrosssectionsarenotcirclesasforeggsandvortices,butarelogarithmicspirals.They
couldinfactbeanypathcurve:eggs,spirals,circles,ellipsesandsoon.

ThefollowingdiagramillustratespathcurveswherethetopandbottominvariantplanesinFigure24arenot
parallel:

Figure32

LawrenceEdwardsfoundthatsuchcasesdescribetheleftventricleoftheheart,relatingtodiastolewhenthe
planesarenearlyparallelandsystolewhenattheirgreatestangle.
Research

Figure 26 suggests that path curves are related to natural forms as first suggested by George Adams
(Reference1). LawrenceEdwardsrealisedthatalthoughthisseemstobethecasesomeseriousresearch
wouldberequiredtoseewhethersucharelationshipwasfortuitousorwhetherthepathcurveprocessis
actuallyoccurringinNature. Therearetwoaspectstothisquestion:thehypothesisthatthegeometryis
relatedtonaturalprocesses,andifsotoseehowwellitsformsfitactualonesasinFigure26.Thusthe
investigationofrealformsisnotmerelya"fitting"exerciseashasbeenclaimedbycritics,butratheratest
ofahypothesiswhichwemustfirstdescribe.

Thehypothesis,followingtheresearchofRudolfSteiner,isthatanotherkindofspaceexistsbesidestheone
weareusedto,andthatlawsrelatedtoboththesespacesareactiveinNature.Theotherkindofspaceis
usually called counterspace, and is dual, or polar, to our ordinary space. Thus where points play a
fundamental role inspace,planes playthatroleincounterspace. Astrikingexampleofthat concerns
infinity. In ordinary space we feel that ideal points are infinitely far away outwards, whereas in
counterspaceplanesareinfinitelyfarawayinwards.Thisisnotwhatweexperiencewithourwakingday
consciousnessbutratheriswhatcanbeexperiencedinaheightenedconsciousnesswhichexperiences"here"
tobeattheworldperipherylookinginwardsfromalldirections,polaroppositeordualtoourordinary
experience of beingfiguratively atapoint inspacelooking outwards. Counterspaceallows agenuine
development of theholistic aspects ofthe worldwhicharebecoming increasingly apparentin modern
physics,butraiseparadoxeswhenhandledinthetraditionalpointbasedfashion.GeorgeAdams(Reference
1)foundamathematicaldescriptionofcounterspaceusingthenewdevelopmentsingeometryinthe19th
Centurythathavesinceprovedsofruitfulinvariousscientificcontexts. Thishasbeentakenfurtherby
ConradtandThomas(References2,7and8)aswellasbyotherresearchers.

GeorgeAdamsenvisagedthatthetwospacesinterweaveinpathcurves,andthewaythisisconceivedwas
describedabovewhereapathcurveisduallywovenofpointsandplanes.Hisideawasthatsubtleholistic
forcesworkintolivingformssuchaspinecones,flowerbuds,leafbuds,birdseggsandsoon.Henceif
theseformsinNatureexhibitpathcurveformsaccuratelyoverawiderangeoftheparametersandthat
isevidenceinfavourofthehypothesis.Thevariabilityoftheformsisstrictlylimitedbythoseparameters,
sotheycannotbefittedtojustanything.

LawrenceEdwardsconductedanextensiveresearchprogrammetotestthehypothesis,analysingthousands
ofbudformsintheprocess(Reference3).Hefoundsomeremarkablygoodresults,withinthevariability
of living forms subjectastheyaretowindandweather. Alltheflowerbudsheinvestigated showed
unmistakablecorrelationswiththepathcurveprocess. Belowisoneexamplebytheauthorofhowwell
theseformsconformtothemathematics:
 Figure33

ThisshowsanenlargementofaKerriaJaponicabud,whichisitselfonlyafewmillimetresinsize.Thered
curveshowsthemathematicalpathcurvecalculatedtogivethebestfit,whichspeaksforitself.Inpractice
thedeviationiscalculatedmathematicallytomakeobjectivecomparisons.Inthiscase=1.79.Thesepals
wereremovedwhichexplainstheunevenbase.

Edwardsstartedacertainlineofinvestigationin1983whichledtosomethingquiteunexpected(Reference
3).Hemeasuredthelambdavaluesofleafbudsoftreesduringthewinter,whichareeggforms.Theleaf
budshadtheir valuebetween2and3. Edwardsexpectedtheleafbudshapestobestaticthroughthe
winterbuttohissurprisevariedrhythmicallyupanddownwitharoughlytwoweekcycle.Ashelooked
intothematterfurtherhefoundthatdifferenttreeshadslightlybutdistinctlydifferentcyclelengths,and
thesecorrelatedwiththetimesbetweenconjunctionsandoppositionsoftheMoonandaplanetsothatforan
oak,forexample,thiscorrelatedcloselywiththeconjunctionsandoppositionswithMars.Over19years
Edwards collected alargevolume ofdataonthis andfoundamethod ofanalysis whichconfirms the
relationshipofdifferenttreestodifferentplanetsinthisrespect.Manyexamplesoftheserhythmscanbe
seeninReference4.

Interestinglytheeffectwassharplyreducedforatreenearalargetransformer.Nowitisscarcelypossible
inreasonabletimetogrowtreesinspeciallocations totestanidea!Sohecomparedthebehaviourof
knapweedbudsunderelectricalcableswithothersandconfirmedthisresult.Itisprobablythefrequencyof
theelectricalormagneticoscillationthatinterfereswithaplanarlinkagebetweenspaceandcounterspacein
thedynamicprocessesinvolved.

AfurtherconfirmationoftheplanetaryinfluencecamewhenthecometShoemakerLevycollided with
Jupiterin1994.Workwithknapweedsince1985hadshownittobeconnectedwithJupiter,butitbehaved
quiteuncharacteristicallyin1994(Reference5).Usuallytheknapweedincreasesfromabout1.3atthe
endofJunetoslightlybelow1.7inmidAugust,andtheresultsforhundredsofbudsanalysedbetween1985
and1993wereplottedtogiveameangraphofthevariationofinthatJulyandAugust,togetherwithtwo
graphsoftheextremevaluesofreachedbyindividualbudseithersideofthatmean.
 Figure34

In1994thewholegraphlaywellabovetheupperextremewithvaryingfromjustabove1.7initiallyto
over1.8andthengraduallyfallingagainaftertheimpact,butstillremainingnear1.8.Trulyaremarkable
result!

Figure35

In1983thecorrelationbetweentherhythmicvariationinbudshapeandtheconjunctionsandoppositionsof
theMoonandplanetsseemedstraightforward,butastheyearspassedtherewasagradualslippagesothat
althoughtheperiodofthevariationsremainedcorrelatedthephasegraduallychangedsothatseveraldays
betweenthemaximaandminimaofthegraphandtheconjunctionsandoppositionsbegantoaccrue.After
sevenyearsthetwowereinstepagainandthentheslippagecontinuedasbefore.Ithasremainedamystery
whythisshouldhappenandwhatgovernstherateofslippage.Achartofthephaseslippageconstructedby
Edwardsisshownbelow.
 Figure36

Thepossibilityofcavitiesbetweenspaceandcounterspacebecameapparent(Reference8)anditseemed
worthinvestigatingwhethertherecouldbeanyconnection. Nowthesizeofacavityvariesininverse
proportiontothefrequencyinvolved,sothatthelowestnotesofanorganrequirethelargestpipesandvice
versa.Afrequencyofonecycleeverytwoweeksisverylowindeedyetthebudsascavities(ifthatthey
are)areverysmall.Thescalingbetweenspaceandcounterspaceaffectsthefrequencyandwhenthescaling
required to relate a budsized cavity to a two weekly rhythm was calculated it was very close to the
reciprocalofthesocalledvelocityoflight.Itisnearlyexactfora4mmbud,andmanybudsarethissortof
size,includingleafbuds,althoughthereislargevariationmoregenerally. Thepointisthatrhythmsin
natural processes have been demonstrated to correlate with cosmic rhythms, and investigation of such
connectionsratherthanmerepositionalaspectsoftheplanetsismorelikelytobefruitful. Theworkon
resonantcavitiesbridgingspaceandcounterspaceprovidesarationaleforsuchresearch.

WaterVortices

InFigure13weshowedtwotypesofvortexlikepathcurve.LawrenceEdwardsshowedthatphotographs
takenbyJohnBlackwoodofstablewatervorticesfittheoneontherightforasuitablevalueof.Since
thenGeorgSondertookthisfurtherandshowedthatatypicalstablewatervortexhas=2.9(Reference
6).

Conclusion

Thepathcurveprocesshasbeendemonstratedinflowerandleafbuds,birdseggs,pinecones,thehuman
heartandtheuterusduringpregnancy.Suchawiderangeofapplicationmostlyusingthesingleparameter
is impressive. It is difficult to 'prove' that these forms 'are path curves' as that involves important
philosophical questions about the nature of science. However as evidence for the process envisaged
betweenspaceandcountespaceitishighlysuggestive.Inafurtherarticleanotheraspectoftheworkwith
pivottransformswillbepresentedwhichfirmsupthisevidence.Aparadigmshiftawayfromexclusively
localactiontoincludegenuineholismiscalledfor,andreferences2,7and8areacontributiontothat.
References

1. Adams,GeorgeandWhicher,Olive,ThePlantBetweenSunandEarth,
RudolfSteinerPress,London1980.
2. Conradt,Oliver,MathematicalPhysicsandCountespace,VerlagamGoetheanum,KleinerReihe,
Heft4,2008.
3. Edwards,Lawrence,TheVortexofLifeFlorisPress,Edinburgh1993.
4. Edwards,Lawrence,SupplementandSequel,availableaspdffileson
www.vortexoflife.org.uk/Reports.htm
5. Edwards,Lawrence,SupplementandSequelVolume3,availableasapdffileon
www.vortexoflife.org.uk/Reports.htm
6. GeorgSonder,lectureattendedbytheauthor.
7. Thomas,N.C.,ScienceBetweenSpaceandCounterspace,NewScienceBooks,
London1999,reprinted2008.
8. Thomas,N.C.,SpaceandCounterspace,FlorisBooks,Edinburgh2008.