differential geometry

differential geometry, branch of geometry in which the concepts of the calculus are applied to curves, surfaces, and other geometric entities. The approach in classical differential geometry involves the use of coordinate geometry (see analytic geometry; Cartesian coordinates), but more recently the methods of differential geometry have been applied in other areas of geometry, e.g., in projective geometry.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Development of Differential Geometry
• The Analysis of Surfaces
• The Analysis of Curves

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