Investigation for Surface Area and Volume of

a Horn (Gabriel’s Horn)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RATIONALE 3
INTRODUCTION 4
AIM 4
INTEGRAL CALCULAS 5
GRAPH OF y = 1x 5
VOLUME 7
SURFACE AREA 8
Graph of the shape using Geogebra 10
Finding whether or not the shape follows infinite geometric series pattern 12
Proving for Volume of the new equation 13
Proving for Surface Area with the new equation 13
APPLICATION OF GABRIEL’S HORN 15
Painters Paradox 15
CONCLUSION 16
Investigation for Surface Area and Volume of a Horn (Gabriel’s Horn)

RATIONALE
Ever since I was young I always liked to play musical instruments. My favorite musical

instrument was a Trumpet. My inspiration for playing the instrument came from my uncle.

He was the one who taught me to play this instrument at a very young age. Since then I am

very fond of playing the instrument. As I grew older playing this instrument I came to know

a lot more about it. I used to find the shape of a trumpet very unusual compared to other

musical instruments. While other instrument shapes were similar to rectangles, square and

cylinders, the shape of a trumpet is very different as it is similar to a hyperbola. When I was

young my math teacher used to teach me new interesting things. Amongst the new things

that were taught to me by my teacher I was very perplexed when my teacher told me about

the Gabriel’s horn. I gained my interest in the topic when he told me that the shape of the

horn is similar to that of a trumpet. I was shocked to hear about its unusual geometrical

shape as to how is it possible for any shape to have an infinite surface area but a finite

volume. I always used to ponder about the unusual shape until my teacher told me the

math behind it but I never understood it as it was way off my understanding. This made me

more eager to know more about the shape so I decided to work on finding the math behind

this unusual shape, Gabriel’s Horn.

 1

INTRODUCTION
Gabriel’s horn (also known as Torricelli’s trumpet) is a geometric figure which has an infinite

surface area but a finite volume. The name refers to the tradition identifying the Archangel

Gabriel as the angel who blows the horn to announce Judgment Day, associating the infinite

with the finite. The properties of this figure were first studied by Italian physicist and

mathematician Evangelista Torricelli in the 17th century.2 Torricelli was an Italian physicist

and mathematician, best known for his invention of the barometer. He is also famous for

the discovery of the Gabriel’s horn whose surface area is infinite, but whose volume is finite.

He tried several of alternate proofs, in attempt to prove that its surface area was also finite

but he failed every time.

AIM
My aim for exploring this topic is to find the math behind this unusual shape and whether

other reciprocal functions follow the same properties using the concepts of calculus which I

1 "Painting Gabriel's Horn • Reasonably Faithless." Reasonably Faithless. N.p., 19 June 2015. Web. 14
Aug. 2016.
2 "Torricelli's Trumpet or Gabriel's Horn." Torricelli's Trumpet or Gabriel's Horn. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept.

2016.
have learned in my class. So by finding the math behind the unusual shape I can further

explore whether or not other reciprocal functions follow the same property.

INTEGRAL CALCULAS
This is a branch of mathematics which focuses on the determination, properties and

applications of integral. An integral assigns numbers to function in a way that can describe

its area, displacement, volume and other concepts. Integration is one of the two main

operations of calculus.3 The principles of integration were formulated independently by

Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz in the late 17th century, who thought of the integral as

an infinite sum of rectangles of infinitesimal width. 4This has many extensions amongst

which improper integral is one of them. A proper integral assumes the integrand is defined

and finite on a closed and bounded interval. An improper integral occurs when one or more

of these conditions are not satisfied.5 Improper integral is the limit of proper integrals as

one endpoint of the interval of integration approaches either a specified real number,

∞ 𝑜𝑟 − ∞.

𝟏
GRAPH OF 𝒚 =
𝒙
1
The unusual shape of the geometric figure follows the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑥 for the values from

1 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ ∞ which is rotated 360° in order to form the unusual shape. We don’t take the x

value as 0 as any number divided by 0 would give us an undefined value.6 The rotation of

3 Elaine. "Integral Calculus." Integral Calculus. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.
4 "Improper Integrals: Introduction." Improper Integrals: Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
5 "Calculus II - Improper Integrals." Calculus II - Improper Integrals. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.
6 "Reciprocal Function." Reciprocal Function. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.
 1
the graph of 𝑦 = 𝑥 forms the shape of the horn. Its domain is {𝑥: 𝑥 ∈ ℝ|𝑥 ≠ 0}. Its range is

{𝑦: 𝑦 ∈ ℝ|𝑦 ≠ 0}.

𝟏
Table for the graph of 𝒇(𝒙) = 𝒙

𝟏
𝐟(𝒙) =
𝒙
X- Values Y-Values

1.00 1.00

2.00 0.50

3.00 0.33

4.00 0.25

5.00 0.20

7 "Reciprocal Función." Tutorvista. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

 6.00 0.16

7.00 0.14

8.00 0.12

9.00 0.11

10.0 0.10

∞ 0

VOLUME
The volume of the shape can be found out by using integral calculus. The formula for the

volume of a curvature is given by the equation 𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ 𝑦 2 𝑑𝑥 where y is the equation of the

1
line. Since the equation of the line is 𝑦 = 𝑥 so through this we can find the volume of the

figure which can be proved to finite.

1 2
𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ ( ) 𝑑𝑥
𝑥

And since the graph values are from 1≤ 𝑥 ≤ ∞ so we add limits to the above equation in

order to find the volume.

∞
1
𝑉 = 𝜋∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥2
∞
𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ 𝑥 −2 𝑑𝑥
1

∞
𝑥 −2+1
𝑉 = 𝜋∫ ( ) 𝑑𝑥
1 −2 + 1

∞
𝑥 −1
𝑉 = 𝜋∫ ( ) 𝑑𝑥
1 −1
So, to solve this equation we first subtract the upper limit from the lower limit by putting ∞

in 𝑥 and then again putting 1 in x.

1 1
𝑉 = 𝜋 ((− ) − (− ))
∞ 1

𝑉 = 𝜋(0 − (−1))

𝑉 = 𝜋 (𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒)

So, since the volume of the shape is equal to 𝜋 we have hence proved that the shape has a

finite volume as shown in the steps above.

SURFACE AREA
The surface area of the curvature can be found out using the equation given below in which

1
𝑓(𝑥) is the equation of the line which is 𝑦 = 𝑥 and 𝑓 ′ (𝑥) is the first derivative of the

equation.

𝑏
2
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑓(𝑥)√1 + (𝑓 ′ (𝑥)) 𝑑𝑥
𝑎

1 ∞
1 2
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ √1 + (− 2 ) 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 𝑥

∞
1 (𝑥 4 + 1)
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ √ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 𝑥4

∞
1 √𝑥 4 + 1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 𝑥2

∞
√𝑥 4 + 1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥3

𝑅 𝑅
√𝑥 4 + 1 √𝑥 4
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 lim ∫ 𝑑𝑥 > 2𝜋 lim ∫ 𝑑𝑥
𝑅→∞ 1 𝑥3 𝑅→∞ 1 𝑥3
Since 𝑥 4 + 1 > 𝑥 4 , we equated them as shown above as 𝑥 4 + 1 would be hard to solve so

solving for 𝑥 4 will give the answer. And also, since we already know that 𝑥 4 + 1 > 𝑥 4 the

answer obtained will be greater.

𝑅
𝑥2
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 lim ∫ 𝑑𝑥
𝑅→∞ 1 𝑥3

𝑅
1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 lim ∫ 𝑑𝑥
𝑅→∞ 1 𝑥

𝑅
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 lim ∫ 𝑙𝑛𝑥 𝑑𝑥
𝑅→∞ 1

𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 lim ln 𝑅 − 𝑙𝑛1 𝑑𝑥
𝑅→∞

𝑆𝐴 = ∞

Through the calculations done above we can see that the surface area for a shape whose

1
function is given by the equation 𝑦 = 𝑥 is proved to be infinite.
Graph of the shape using Geogebra

8 Using Geogebra Software

Table for the graph:

𝐟(𝒙) = 𝟑. 𝟐𝟐𝒙−𝟏.𝟓𝟐

Points X- Values Y-Values

C 0.92 2.04

D 1.61 1.50

E 2.25 1.12

F 2.94 0.86

G 3.69 0.63

H 4.51 0.48

I 5.35 0.35

J 6.25 0.27

K 7.05 0.17

L 7.66 0.14

M 8.40 0.07

N 9.23 0.07

1
The graph of the shape is similar to graph of . The new equation of the graph would be
𝑥

3.222
given by the equation where 𝑥 ≠ 0. The new equation is similar to the equation of
𝑥 1.52

1
as both are reciprocal functions and have vertical and horizontal asymptotes of 0. So, by
𝑥

taking the new equation we can check whether or not other reciprocal functions other than

1
𝑦 = 𝑥 follow the properties similar to that of Gabriel’s Horn. So, by checking the volume
and the surface area of the new equation we can say whether or not it follows the

properties similar to that of the Horn. We can also check whether or not the shape follows

the infinite geometric series pattern.

Finding whether or not the shape follows infinite geometric series

pattern
To find out whether the shape follows the pattern of an infinite geometric series we take

the values of 𝑥 = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 …. and see whether they follow the series or not. By putting

3.222
these values in the equation of 𝑦 = we are able to get the following series:
𝑥 1.52

3.222, 1.12, 0.39, 0.14, 0.047

Through the series given above we are able to get the value of common ratio (r) by doing

the following:

1.12 0.39 0.14 0.047

= = = = 0.34
3.222 1.12 0.39 0.14

So, by doing this we are able to find the common ratio value which is 0.34 and by putting

𝑈1
this value in the infinite geometric series equation of 𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 ∞ = 1−𝑟 where U1 is the

first term and r is the common ratio.

3.222
𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 ∞ =
1 − 0.34

𝑆𝑢𝑚 𝑢𝑝 𝑡𝑜 ∞ = 4.88

So, through the above equation we are able to get the sum up to infinity is equal to 4.88

which disproves the property of the Horn. I also got to know the for any values of 𝑥 which

are consecutive powered numbers like 𝑥 = 1,3,9,27 𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 1,4,16,64 the sum up to infinity

will be a finite number so we can hence say that the shape follows the infinite geometric

1
series as its equation differs of that from the real Horn whose equation is 𝑦 = 𝑥 . We also
know that the formation of such a shape in the real world is not possible as something

cannot tend to infinity so the sum up to infinity should be a finite value.

Proving for Volume of the new equation

3.222 2
∞
𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ ( 1.52 ) 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥
∞
10.38
𝑉 = 𝜋∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 3.04
∞
𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ 10.38𝑥 −3.04 𝑑𝑥
1

∞
𝑉 = 𝜋 × 10.38 ∫ 𝑥 −3.04 𝑑𝑥
1

∞
𝑥 −3.04+1
𝑉 = 𝜋 × 10.38 ∫ ( ) 𝑑𝑥
1 −3.04 + 1

∞
𝑥 −2.04
𝑉 = 𝜋 × 10.38 ∫ ( ) 𝑑𝑥
1 −2.04

1 1 1 1
𝑉 = 𝜋 × 10.38 ((− ∗ ) − (− ∗ ))
2.04 ∞ 2.04 1

𝑉 = 𝜋 × 10.38(0 − (−0.49))

𝑉 = 16.3 (𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒)

So, by proving the volume with the new equation we can see that it has a finite volume.

Proving for Surface Area with the new equation

𝑏
2
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑓(𝑥)√1 + (𝑓 ′ (𝑥)) 𝑑𝑥
𝑎

∞
3.222 4.89 2
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ √1 + (− 2.52 ) 𝑑𝑥
1.52
1 𝑥 𝑥
 ∞
3.222 (𝑥 5.04 + 23.9)
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ √ 𝑑𝑥
1.52 𝑥 5.04
1 𝑥

∞
3.222 √𝑥 5.04 + 23.9
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥1.52 𝑥 2.24

∞
3.222 ∗ √𝑥 5.04 + 23.9
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 3.76

∞ ∞
3.222 ∗ √𝑥 5.04 + 23.9 √𝑥 5.04
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑑𝑥 > 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 3.76 1 𝑥 3.76

Since 𝑥 5.04 + 23.9 > 𝑥 5.04 , we equated them as shown above since 𝑥 5.04 + 23.9 would be

hard to solve so solving for 𝑥 5.04 will give the answer.

∞
𝑥 2.24
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥 3.76
∞
1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 𝑥1.52

∞
𝑥 −1.52+1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 −1.52 + 1

∞
𝑥 −0.52
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 𝑑𝑥
1 −0.52
∞
1 1
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ − × 0.52 𝑑𝑥
1 0.52 𝑥
∞
𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 ∫ 0 − (−1.92) 𝑑𝑥
1

𝑆𝐴 = 2𝜋 × 3.222 × 1.92

𝑆𝐴 = 38.85 (𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒)

So, by taking the new equation and finding its surface area we get to know that it has a

finite surface area. There is some amount of error in the value obtained for the surface area

as to make the calculations easier we substituted 𝑥 5.04 + 23.9 with 𝑥 5.04. The actual value
of the surface area is 59.41 which was obtained from integral calculator. So, we can say that

there was a percentage error of:

|𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒|

𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 %
𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒
|38.85 − 59.4|
𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = × 100 %
59.4

𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 = 34.5%

APPLICATION OF GABRIEL’S HORN

Painters Paradox
The paradox states that “The inner surface of the horn is infinite; therefore, an infinite

amount of paint is needed to paint the inner surface. But the volume of the horn is finite so

the inner surface can be painted by pouring π amount of paint into the horn.” 9Since the

horn has infinite surface area but a finite volume, we can say that it could be filled with a

certain quantity of paint. But since it has an infinite surface area that quantity of paint

would not be sufficient to coat its inner surface. The inner surface can be coated with a

finite quantity of paint only if the thickness of paint becomes so less that it can compensate

for infinitely expanding area. If the paint is thick then it would be caught inside due to the

narrow size of the horn. However, to coat the outer surface of the horn no matter what the

thickness of the paint may be, it would still require an infinite quantity of paint to coat it.

But in the real world this is not possible as we cannot have infinite quantity of paint and

neither have a horn which can stretch up to infinity.

9Wijeratne, Chanakya, and Rina Zazkis. "On Painter's Paradox: Contextual and Mathematical
Approaches to Infinity." SpringerLink. Springer International Publishing, 05 May 2015. Web. 23 Sept.
2016.
CONCLUSION
From the results obtained with the new equation we can hence say the properties of infinite

1
surface area and finite volume only works for the function 𝑦 = 𝑥 and does not work for

other reciprocal functions as proved above. We also get to know whether or not the shape

follows the infinite geometric series pattern. Since the new equation follows the infinite

geometric series pattern, we can say that the shape does not follow the properties of the

horn i.e. finite volume and infinite surface area. The shape of the original horn is not

possible in the real world as the horn cannot tend to infinity. And this also brings me to its

application of the painter paradox that a painter cannot paint the horn form outside as he

would be needing an infinite amount of paint which is not possible in the real world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Painting Gabriel's Horn • Reasonably Faithless." Reasonably Faithless. N.p., 19 June 2015. Web. 14 Aug.
2016.

"Torricelli's Trumpet or Gabriel's Horn." Torricelli's Trumpet or Gabriel's Horn. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept.
2016.

"Calculus II - Improper Integrals." Calculus II - Improper Integrals. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

Elaine. "Integral Calculus." Integral Calculus. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

"Improper Integrals: Introduction." Improper Integrals: Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

"Reciprocal Function." Reciprocal Function. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

"Reciprocal Función." Tutorvista. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2016.

Wijeratne, Chanakya, and Rina Zazkis. "On Painter's Paradox: Contextual and Mathematical Approaches

to Infinity." SpringerLink. Springer International Publishing, 05 May 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.