The differential geometry of curves and surfaces in Euclidean space has fascinated mathematicians since the time of Newton. Here the authors cast the theory into a new light, that of singularity theory. This second edition has been thoroughly revised throughout and includes a multitude of new exercises and examples. A new final chapter has been added which covers recently developed techniques in the classification of functions of several variables, a subject central to many applications of singularity theory. Also in this second edition are new sections on the Morse lemma and the classification of plane curve singularities. The only prerequisites for students to follow this textbook are a familiarity with linear algebra and advanced calculus. Thus it will be invaluable for anyone who would like an introduction to modern singularity theory.

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SynopsisIn this paper we give the local classification of solution curves of bivalued direction fields determined by the equationwhere a and b are smooth functions which we suppose vanish at 0 ∈ ℝ2. Such fields arise on surfaces in Euclidean space, near umbilics, as the principal direction fields, and also in applications of singularity theory to the structure of flow fields and monochromatic-electromagnetic radiation. We give a classification up to homeomorphism (there are three types) but the methods furnish much additional information concerning the fields, via a crucial blowing-up construction.

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