A Generalization of a Theorem of Archimedes

Author(s): Walter Rudin

Source: The American Mathematical Monthly , Aug. - Sep., 1973, Vol. 80, No. 7 (Aug. -
Sep., 1973), pp. 794-796
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Mathematical Association of
America

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2318169

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 CLASSROOM NOTES

EDITED BY ROBERT GILMER

Material for this Department should be sent to David Roselle, Department of Mathematics,
Louisiana,State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.

A GENERALIZATION OF A THEOREM OF ARCHIMEDES

WALTER RUDIN, University of Wisconsin

THEOREM A. If two parallel planes whose distance is d intersect a sphere S

of radius r, then the area of the part of S that lies between the two planes is 2rrd.

This is the theorem to which the title of this note alludes. (See p. 145 of C. B.
Boyer's A History of Mathematics, Wiley, 1968.)
If the euclidean space R3 is equipped with its usual coordinate system, so that
the unit sphere S2 is the set of all x = (x1, x2, x3) with x1 + x2 + x2 1, then
Theorem A is seen to be equivalent to

THEOREM A'. If 0 < 6 < 1 and if E(b) is the set of all X E S2 with I X3f
then the area of E(6) is 4,nb.

This formulation of Archimedes' theorem leads to a problem which may interest

a good Calculus class when multiple integrals are studied.
Fix integers n and k, 1 < k < n-1. Write each x = (x ,..,x.)eRn in the
form

(1) x =(x',x'),

where x' = (xR ,**,xk)Rk,X = (Xk + 1l,.**,xf)eRk. Define

(2) xl =(x2 + ... + x2)+, | xI =(x+ + ... + x2)+.

The unit sphere Sn-1 in Rn is then the set of all x eRn with lix' 112 +
For 0 < 6 < 1, let E(6) be the set of all x eSn- I for which lix" ?6
QUESTION. For which pairs (n,k) is the (n-1)-dimensional volume of E(6)
proportional to 6n-k?

Theorem A' asserts that (3,2) is such a pair. The answer to the question has a
feature which may be surprising: It depends only on k.

THEOREM 1. The (n- 1)-dimensional volume of E(b) is proportional to 6n-k if

and only if k = 2.

The computation which proves Theorem 1 is made easy by Theorem 2 which

will now be formulated. It reduces the computation of certain n-dimensional volumes
to the evaluation of integrals over plane regions.

794

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 CLASSROOM NOTES 795

Suppose 1? k < n-I, as above. Let Q be the closed first quadrant in R2;
explicitly, Q is the set of all (4, 'i) with 4 ? 0, ,1 2 0. Let 0 be the mapping
onto Q defined by

(3) +(x) = k(x',x") = ( x'JJ, IIx"II).

To see what k does, observe that if q = (d, i) E Q then k '(q) is the cartesian
product of a (k - 1)-dimensional sphere and an (n - k - 1)-dimensional one, unless
= 0 or ,1 = 0; when 4 = 0 < ii, 04'(q) is a sphere of dimension n-k-1; whe
4 > 0 = i1, then 0 /'(q) is a sphere of dimension k-1; when 0 = 0 = , ,
is a point.

Let V. be the n-dimensional volume of the unit ball in Rn. For example, V1 =
V2 = 7t. Let a.- 1 be the (n - 1)-dimensional volume of Sn- 1. Thus o0 = 2, a, =
U2 = 4n,**.. (The other values of V. and a - are in (14) and (15).)
In general, let m"(A) denote the n-dimensional volume (or measure) of the set A.

THEOREM 2. If Q is a region in Q and if A=O-'(n) is the set of all

x = (x', x")eRn with (|| X' ||, || x"Il)ec2, then

(4) mn(A) = k(n-k)VkVnIk ff k-l n-k- d<dq

Proof of Theorem 2. Let Q first be a rectangle, given by 0 < a < 4 < b,

0 < oc < i <, Then A = A' x A", where A' is the set of all x'eRk with
a < || X' II < b, and A" is the set of all x"ERn-k with oc < || x" || < ,B. H

(5) mn(A) = mk(A )Mn-k(A") = (bk - ak)Vk . (fin-k n - n-k)V

On the other hand,

(6) nkf bk _ ak n-k _ ,n-k

(6) f? kln-k-d~dq = knkn-k
J ~~~~~~k
Comparison of (5) and (6) shows that (4) holds for these rectangles. Hence (4) holds
for general Q, by any of the standard approximation procedures. (In fact, the col-
lection of all sets Q for which (4) holds is easily seen to be a a-algebra, so that (4)
holds for every Borel set Q; it also holds for every Lebesgue-measurable Q.)

Proof of Theorem 1. Let C(b) be the cone with base E(b) and vertex at the origin.
In other words, C(b) is the union of all intervals in Rn which have one endpoint
at the origin and the other in E. Or, C(b) = {tx: 0 < t < 1, x E E(b)}. For r > 0,
note that

(7) mn(rC(b))= rn=M(G(b)),

and that mn 1(E(Q)) is the derivative of the left si

the derivative of rn is n when r = 1, (7) implies that

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 796 WALTER RUDIN

(8) mn_l(E(b)) = nMn(C(6)).

The special case 6 = 1 yields

(9) an-, = nVn .

Note also that C(6)= +(Q), where Q consists of all (d, i) e Q that satisfy

(10) 2+ 2 < 1 and 1 < (tan a)*;

here cx is chosen so that sina = 0,

By switching to polar coordinates and then setting t = sin 0, it now follows
from (8), (9), and Theorem 2 that

Mn_ (E(6)) = nfk-lan-k-l k 1 dXdj

1 ra
(1 1) = nflk-1On-k-.1 rk1 Irn-k- lrdr (COS o)k-
O

= (Fk-l(7n-k-1 (1 -t2)(k-2)/2tn-k-ldt

It is now clear that m_ 1(E(6)) is proportional to bn-k if and only if the last
is proportional to tn-k- I, and this happens if and only if k = 2.
Theorem 1 is thus proved.

REMARKS. When k = 2, (11) and (9) yield

,n-2

(12) mn- (E(6)) = r?n-3 -2 = 2/n_2bn-2

which reduces to Theorem A' when n = 3. If 6 = 1, (12) and (9) give the recursion
formula

(13) nV, = 2rIVn'-2

Since V1 = 2 and V2 = 2, (13) enables us

2 itn/2
(14) Vn = (2

(The only properties of the gamma function that are needed here are:
r(l) = 1, xJT(X) = f(x + 1),F(s = Jr
Finally, (9) and (14) give

(15) Gn r(n/2)

This research was partially supported by NSF Grant GP-24182.

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