conchoid


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conchoid

(ˈkɒŋkɔɪd)
n
(Mathematics) geometry a plane curve consisting of two branches situated about a line to which they are asymptotic, so that a line from a fixed point (the pole) intersecting both branches is of constant length between asymptote and either branch. Equation: (x – a)2(x2 + y2) = b2x2 where a is the distance between the pole and a vertical asymptote and b is the length of the constant segment
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
References in periodicals archive ?
Along the way the curves known as the conchoid and the cissoid were discovered.
For instance, we can consider tracing a conchoid of Nicomedes.
It retains its vague lobularity and frequently shows conchoid calcifications (corpora arenacea) but is compressed and often loses some of its normal lobular architecture (Figure 9, B).