Plane (geometry) - Topological and Differential Geometric Notions

Topological and Differential Geometric Notions

The one-point compactification of the plane is homeomorphic to a sphere (see stereographic projection); the open disk is homeomorphic to a sphere with the "north pole" missing; adding that point completes the (compact) sphere. The result of this compactification is a manifold referred to as the Riemann sphere or the complex projective line. The projection from the Euclidean plane to a sphere without a point is a diffeomorphism and even a conformal map.

The plane itself is homeomorphic (and diffeomorphic) to an open disk. For the Lobachevsky plane such diffeomorphism is conformal, but for the Euclidean plane it is not.

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