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:
“... there is no such thing as a rational world and a separate irrational world, but only one world containing both.”
—Robert Musil (18801942)
“Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. Freedom is violence.”
—Norman O. Brown (b. 1913)
“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 (18211867)