Cut view of a homoeoid in 3D

A homoeoid is a shell (a bounded region) bounded by two concentric, similar ellipses (in 2D) or ellipsoids (in 3D).[1][2] When the thickness of the shell becomes negligible, it is called a thin homoeoid. The name homoeoid was coined by Lord Kelvin and Peter Tait.[3]

Mathematical definition

If the outer shell is given by

with semiaxes the inner shell is given for by

.

The thin homoeoid is then given by the limit

Physical meaning

A homoeoid can be used as a construction element of a matter or charge distribution. The gravitational or electromagnetic potential of a homoeoid homogeneously filled with matter or charge is constant inside the shell. This means that a test mass or charge will not feel any force inside the shell.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chandrasekhar, S.: Ellipsoidal Figures of Equilibrium, Yale Univ. Press. London (1969)
  2. ↑ Routh, E. J.: A Treatise on Analytical Statics, Vol II, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (1882)
  3. ↑ Harry Bateman. "Partial differential equations of mathematical physics.", Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1932 (1932).
  4. ↑ Michel Chasles, Solution nouvelle du problème de l’attraction d’un ellipsoïde hétérogène sur un point exterieur, Jour. Liouville 5, 465–488 (1840)
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