Section 2.6 Surface integrals
Subsection 2.6.1 Surface integrals of scalar functions
Definition 2.6.1. Surface integral of scalar function.
Let
Remark 2.6.2. Taxonomy of scalar integrals.
It might be useful to list (and organize) all the different forms of scalar integrals we have met thus far.
Remark 2.6.4. Independence of parametrization.
As with scalar line integrals, it is possible to show that our definition of the surface integral of
Interpretation 2.6.5. Surface integral interpretation.
As always, the key to understanding the meaning of a surface integral is to make sense of the right-hand side of the approximation formula
Understanding
-
Geometric: surface area.
If
(the constant function), then the right-hand side of (2.6.1) simply adds up yielding an approximation of the area of The integral of computes this area exactly. -
Physical: density function.
Assume
gives us the density of quantity per unit area at position In this case the right-hand side of (2.6.1) can be understood as an approximation of the total quantity over and thus the integral computes this total quantity exactly.
Example 2.6.6.
Let
around the
-
First we parametrize
Observe that intersecting with the plane yields a circle centered at of radius which we can parametrize asLetting
vary between and we get the parametrization -
Assemble the necessary ingredients:
where the last equality follows since
for -
According to Interpretation 2.6.5, integrating a mass density function over
gives us the total mass of Thus
Definition 2.6.7. Surface integral for piecewise smooth surfaces.
A piecewise smooth surface is the union of smoothly parametrized surfaces whose interiors are non-overlapping, and whose intersections form piecewise smooth curves. If
Example 2.6.8. Piecewise smooth surface.
Compute the surface integral of
We have
Let
-
Integral over
.Let
be the face of the tetrahedron in the -plane. We parametrize asA simple computation shows
Thus -
Integral over
.Let
be triangle with vertices This is the region of the plane lying over the planar triangle with vertices Since is expressed as a function of we parametrize easily asAgain, a straightforward computation shows
and thuswhere we use our work from above for the last equality.
Subsection 2.6.2 Surface integrals of vector fields
Definition 2.6.9. Surface orientation.
Let
where for each
Example 2.6.10. Orientations of the sphere.
Let
More generally, if
Example 2.6.11. Graph of function.
Suppose
We have seen that in this case
is an orientation of
Remark 2.6.12. Orientations of orientable surfaces.
Assume
There are exactly two orientations on
namely, the given orientation and its opposite-
The function
is one orientation on
the functionis the other.
Sage example 2.6.1. Nonorientable surface: Möbius strip.
Fix a constant
where
Fact:
provide us with an orientation? The answer: this is a well-defined function on the parameter domain
We can see what's going on by plotting some of the normal vectors given by
Definition 2.6.13. Surface integral of vector field.
Let
This integral is also called the flux of
Example 2.6.14. Flux across a sphere.
Let
We use the usual parametrization of the sphere of radius 2:
Given a point
and thus that
The last step above is done using the identity
Note that in this case we computed the surface integral by (a) identifying the outward orientation
Theorem 2.6.15. Surface integral of vector field.
Let
Furthermore letting
Example 2.6.16. Flux across a cone.
Let
-
Parametrize. Using cylindrical coordinates, we see that
has parametrization -
Ingredients.
Observe that since
the normal vector points upward, and hence toward the -axis. Thus the outward orientation comes from -
Now compute
Sage example 2.6.2. Surface integrals of vector fields.
The Sage cell below assembles the many necessary ingredients to compute a surface integral of a vector field r(u,v)
and its parameter domain description. You may also want to adjust the domain specified for the vector field plot Field
.