Global curvature, thickness, and the ideal shapes of knots.

Gonzalez, O; Maddocks, J H · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 1999

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The global radius of curvature of a space curve is introduced. This function is related to, but distinct from, the standard local radius of curvature and is connected to various physically appealing properties of a curve. In particular, the global radius of curvature function provides a concise characterization of the thickness of a curve, and of certain ideal shapes of knots as have been investigated within the context of DNA.