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Conchoid


A curve whose name means "shell form." Let C be a curve and O a fixed point. Let P and P^' be points on a line from O to C meeting it at Q, where P^'Q=QP=k, with k a given constant. For example, if C is a circle and O is on C, then the conchoid is a limaçon, while in the special case that k is the diameter of C, then the conchoid is a cardioid. The equation for a parametrically represented curve (f(t),g(t)) with O=(x_0,y_0) is

x=f+/-(k(f-x_0))/(sqrt((f-x_0)^2+(g-y_0)^2))
(1)
y=g+/-(k(g-y_0))/(sqrt((f-x_0)^2+(g-y_0)^2)).
(2)

See also

Angle Trisection, Concho-Spiral, Conchoid of de Sluze, Conchoid of Nicomedes, Conical Spiral, Dürer's Conchoid

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References

Lawrence, J. D. A Catalog of Special Plane Curves. New York: Dover, pp. 49-51, 1972.Lockwood, E. H. "Conchoids." Ch. 14 in A Book of Curves. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 126-129, 1967.Wells, D. The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry. London: Penguin, pp. 38-39, 1991.Yates, R. C. "Conchoid." A Handbook on Curves and Their Properties. Ann Arbor, MI: J. W. Edwards, pp. 31-33, 1952.

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Conchoid

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Conchoid." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Conchoid.html

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