
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
.
To compute the radius of a circle going through three points
, the following formula can be used:
where
is the angle
See also
★
Bend radius
★
Curvature
★
Radius of curvature (optics)
External links
★
Definition and properties of the radius of a circle with interactive applet