Envelope
Summary
The envelope of a one-parameter family of plane curves is a curve that touches every member of the family. At each of its points it is tangent to one of the curves. Envelopes give the singular solutions of first-order differential equations, as for Clairaut's equation, and they appear in optics as caustics. See the definition.
Further reading
About this page
| Tag | 827KR3MVVY |
|---|---|
| URI | m2://827KR3MVVY |
| Kind | concept |
| Writing | W0 stub |
| MSC | 53A04, 34A09, 34A26 |
| Same as | |
| Changed | 2 November 2026 |
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