RegionGaussianCurvature[reg,p]
give the Gaussian curvature of the region reg at the point p.
RegionGaussianCurvature
RegionGaussianCurvature[reg,p]
give the Gaussian curvature of the region reg at the point p.
Details and Options
- RegionGaussianCurvature is also know as Gauss curvature.
- RegionGaussianCurvature is typically used to characterize the local shape and curvature of surfaces.
- RegionGaussianCurvature[reg,p] gives the Gaussian curvature of reg at p.
- RegionGaussianCurvature[reg,p] is effectively equivalent to RegionMinCurvature[reg,p]× RegionMaxCurvature[reg,p].
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (1)
Find the Gaussian curvature of the the unit sphere at the point:
RegionGaussianCurvature[Sphere[], {1, 0, 0}]Find the Gaussian curvature of a mesh region at vertex index 1 :
ℛ = ConvexHullMesh[RandomReal[1, {20, 3}]]RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, 1]MeshCoordinates[ℛ][[1]]RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, %]Scope (10)
Special Regions (6)
The Gaussian curvature of a Cuboid at the point:
ℛ = Cuboid[{0, 0, 0}, {3, 2, 1}];
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, {3, 2, 1}]Region[ℛ]ℛ = Parallelepiped[{0, 0, 0}, {{1, 0, 0}, {1, 1, 0}, {0, 1, 1}}];
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, {1, 0, 0}]Region[ℛ]Simplex in 3D:
RegionGaussianCurvature[Simplex[3], {0, 1, 0}]Region[Simplex[3]]Ball:
RegionGaussianCurvature[Ball[{Subscript[c, x], Subscript[c, y], Subscript[c, z]}, r], {x, y, z}]ℛ = Ball[{0, 0, 0}, 1];
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, {0, 1, 0}]Region[ℛ]RegionGaussianCurvature[Ellipsoid[{Subscript[c, x], Subscript[c, y], Subscript[c, z]}, {Subscript[r, x], Subscript[r, y], Subscript[r, z]}], {x, y, z}]ℛ = Ellipsoid[{0, 0, 0}, {3, 2, 1}];
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, {3, 0, 0}]Region[ℛ]RegionGaussianCurvature[CapsuleShape[{{Subscript[x, 1], Subscript[y, 1], Subscript[z, 1]}, {Subscript[x, 2], Subscript[y, 2], Subscript[z, 2]}}, r], {x, y, z}]ℛ = CapsuleShape[];
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, {2, 0, 0}]Region[ℛ]Formula Regions (2)
The Gaussian curvature of a sphere represented as an ImplicitRegion:
RegionGaussianCurvature[ImplicitRegion[x^2 + y^2 + z^2 == 1, {x, y, z}], {x, y, z}]RegionGaussianCurvature[ImplicitRegion[x ^ 2 + y ^ 2 - z ^ 2 == 1, {x, y, z}], {x, y, z}]Mesh Regions (2)
The Gaussian curvature of a MeshRegion:
ℛ = ResourceData["Cow"]RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, 10]Use "MeshCoordinates" to compute the Gaussian curvature at each vertex of the mesh:
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, "MeshCoordinates"]//ShortThe Gaussian curvature of a BoundaryMeshRegion:
ℛ = BoundaryDiscretizeRegion[Ellipsoid[{0, 0, 0}, {4, 3, 2}]]RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, 1]Use "MeshCoordinates" to compute the Gaussian curvature at each vertex of the boundary mesh:
RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, "MeshCoordinates"]//ShortProperties & Relations (3)
A convex region has positive Gaussian curvature:
ℛ = Sphere[];RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, Point[{0, 0, 1}] ]HighlightRegion[ℛ, Point[{0, 0, 1}]]A developable region that can be flattened onto a plane without distortion has zero Gaussian curvature:
ℛ = Cylinder[];RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, Point[{0, -1, 1 / 2}] ]HighlightRegion[ℛ, Point[{0, -1, 1 / 2}]]A saddle-shaped region where the surface curves in opposite directions has negative Gaussian curvature:
ℛ = ImplicitRegion[x ^ 2 + y ^ 2 - z ^ 2 == 1, {x, y, z}];RegionGaussianCurvature[ℛ, Point[{1, -1, 1}] ]HighlightRegion[ℛ, Point[{1, -1, 1}], PlotRange -> {{-3, 3}, {-3, 3}, {-3, 3}}]Related Guides
History
Text
Wolfram Research (2025), RegionGaussianCurvature, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/RegionGaussianCurvature.html.
CMS
Wolfram Language. 2025. "RegionGaussianCurvature." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/RegionGaussianCurvature.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (2025). RegionGaussianCurvature. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/RegionGaussianCurvature.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_regiongaussiancurvature, author="Wolfram Research", title="{RegionGaussianCurvature}", year="2025", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/RegionGaussianCurvature.html}", note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2026_regiongaussiancurvature, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={RegionGaussianCurvature}, year={2025}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/RegionGaussianCurvature.html}, note=[Accessed: 13-June-2026]}