In mathematics, the rational normal curve is a smooth, rational curve of degree n in projective n-space It is a simple example of a projective variety; formally, it is the Veronese variety when the domain is the projective line. For n=2 it is the flat conic and for n=3 it is the twisted cubic. The term "normal" is an old term meaning that the linear system defining the embedding is complete (and has nothing to do with normal schemes). The intersection of the rational normal curve with an affine space is called the moment curve.
Read more about Rational Normal Curve: Definition, Alternate Parameterization, Properties
Famous quotes containing the words rational, normal and/or curve:
“So far as discipline is concerned, freedom means not its absence but the use of higher and more rational forms as contrasted with those that are lower or less rational.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)
“You have promise, Mlle. Dubois, but you must choose between an operatic career and what is usually called “a normal life.” Though why it is so called is beyond me.”
—Eric Taylor, Leroux, and Arthur Lubin. M. Villeneuve (Frank Puglia)
“In philosophical inquiry, the human spirit, imitating the movement of the stars, must follow a curve which brings it back to its point of departure. To conclude is to close a circle.”
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)