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trochoid

 
Dictionary: tro·choid   (trō'koid', trŏk'oid') pronunciation

n.
A curve traced by a point on or connected with a circle as the circle rolls along a fixed straight line.

adj. also tro·choi·dal (trō-koid'l, trŏk-oid'l)
  1. Capable of or exhibiting rotation about a central axis.
  2. Permitting rotation, as a pulley or pivot.

[Greek trokhoeidēs, wheellike : trokhos, wheel; see trochee + -oeidēs, -oid.]

trochoidally tro·choi'dal·ly adv.

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Applied in anatomy to a structure resembling or functioning as a pivot or pulley.

Veterinary Dictionary: trochoid
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Pivot-like, or pulley-shaped.

Wikipedia: Trochoid
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A cycloid (a common trochoid) generated by a rolling circle

Trochoid is the word created by Gilles de Roberval for the curve described by a fixed point as a circle rolls along a straight line. As a circle of radius a rolls without slipping along a line L, the center C moves parallel to L, and every other point P in the rotating plane rigidly attached to the circle traces the curve called the trochoid. Let CP = b. If P lies inside the circle (b < a), on its circumference (b = a), or outside (b > a), the trochoid is described as being curtate, common, or prolate, respectively. Parametric equations of the trochoid, which assume L is the x-axis, are

x = a\theta - b \sin(\theta) \,
y = a - b \cos(\theta) \,

where θ is the variable angle through which the circle rolls. A curtate trochoid is traced by a pedal when a bicycle is pedaled along a straight line. A prolate, or extended trochoid is traced by the tip of a paddle when a boat is driven with constant velocity by paddle wheels; this curve contains loops. A common trochoid, also called a cycloid, has cusps at the points where P touches the L.

A hypotrochoid is formed by a wheel rolling around the inside of a fixed circle.

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trochoidal
epitrochoid
hypotrochoid

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Trochoid" Read more