Alright, perhaps I should explain a bit...
(the "curious problem" I referred to)
Let [tex]y=h\sin kx[/tex], where [itex]h,k \in \mathbb{R}^{+}[/itex].
The length 'L' of this function on the x-interval [0,2π] can be expressed
as a function of 'h' and 'k'. In other words,
[tex]L\left( {h,k} \right) = \int\limits_0^{2\pi } {\sqrt {1 + \left( {hk\cos kx} \right)^2 } dx}[/tex]
Obviously,
[tex]\frac{\partial L}{\partial h} > 0\;{\text{and }}\frac{\partial L}{\partial k} > 0[/tex]
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*But...precisely 'how' does [itex]L[/itex] increase with [itex]h[/itex] and/or [itex]k[/itex] ?
Is
[tex]\frac{{\partial ^2 L}}{{\partial h^2 }} > 0\;{\text{and }}\frac{{\partial ^2 L}}{{\partial k^2 }} > 0\;?[/tex]
Also, is
[tex]\frac{{\partial L}}{{\partial h}} > \frac{{\partial L}}{{\partial k}}\;?[/tex]
*And so, to answer these questions,
it would greatly help to analytically evaluate the integral
[tex]\int\limits_0^{2\pi } {\sqrt {1 + \left( {hk\cos kx} \right)^2 } dx}[/tex]
so that I may derive ∂L/∂h and ∂L/∂k, as well as ∂L2/∂h2 and ∂L2/∂k2 :shy: