The application of integrals to the computation of areas in the plane can be extended to
the computation of certain volumes in space, namely those of solids of revolution. A
solid of revolution arises from revolving the region below the graph of a function f (x)
about the x- or y-axis of the plane. A cone arises in this way from a triangular
region, a sphere from a semicircular region, and a cylinder from a rectangular region.
These are just a few of the possibilities for solids of revolution.
There are two primary methods for finding the volume of a solid of revolution. The
shell method is applied to a solid obtained by revolving the region below the graph
of a function f (x) from a to b about the y-axis. It approximates the solid with a
number of thin cylindrical shells, obtained by revolving about the y-axis the thin
rectangular regions used to approximate the corresponding region in the plane. This is
illustrated in the figure below.
Figure %: The Shell Method of Finding the Volume of a Solid of Revolution
The volume of a thin cylindrical shell of radius x, thickness Δx, and height
f (x) is equal to
Π(x +  )2f (x) - Π(x - )2f (x) | = | Π(2xΔx)f (x) |
|
| | = | (2Πx)(Δxf (x)) |
|
Here by "cylindrical shell" we mean the region between two concentric cylinders whose
radii differ only very slightly; precisely speaking, this formula is not correct for
any positive thickness, but approaches the correct value as the thickness Δx
shrinks to zero. Since we will ultimately consider such a limit, this formula will
yield the correct volume in our application.
If we sum together the volumes of a family of such cylindrical shells, covering the
entire interval from a to b, and take the limit as Δx→ 0 (and
consequently as the number of cylindrical shells approaches infinity), we end up with
the integral
Vol =  2Πxf (x)dx = 2Πxf (x)dx |
|
The disk method for finding volumes applies to a solid obtained by revolving the
region below the graph of a function f (x) from a to b about the x-axis. Here
the solid is approximated by a number of very thin disks, standing sideways with the
x-axis through their centers. These disks are obtained by revolving about the
x-axis the thin rectangular regions used to approximate the area of the corresponding
region in the plane. This is illustrated in the figure below.
