In knot theory, writhe is a name for two competing but related quantities. In one sense it is a property of an oriented link diagram alone and takes only integer values; in the other sense it describes the amount of coiling of a mathematical knot, or any closed simple curve, in three-dimensional space and takes real number values. In both senses writhe is a geometric rather than a topological quantity: deforming a curve or its diagram in a way that leaves its topology unchanged can still change its writhe.
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1. Writhe (Wikipedia)
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In knot theory, there are several competing notions of the quantity writhe, or Wr {\displaystyle \operatorname {Wr} } . In one sense, it is purely a property of an oriented link diagram and assumes integer values.
- In Branch: Knot Theory, Lead sentence
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