PAllen said:compute dy/dx and plug into 2.10.b. It leads directly to 2.10. I certainly couldn't see it by eye - but it is a pretty small calculation.
Nano-Passion said:Sorry, I'm not able to read between the line here. What do you mean by compute dy/dx? Compute dy/dx of what?
PAllen said:You have x^2+y^2=R^2. Solve for y and take dy/dx. Plug this into where dy/dx is in 2.10.b. You can then simplify to 2.10.c.
Nano-Passion said:One more question, do you know how he got -1, 1 as the limits of integration? It looks as if he pulled that number randomly.
George Jones said:A change of integration variable was made such that the new integration variable is dimensionless, i.e., \xi = x/R.
Nano-Passion said:Okay, I also don't know how that integral will give you Pi. Something is missing in my knowledge-base.
PAllen said:That integral should be covered in any first course in calculus; or looked up in even the smallest table of integrals; or recognize that it is the circumference of a unit semi-circle. If you're reading this book, you should have calculus book, and can review integration of trigonometric forms.