epicycloid
a curve generated by the motion of a point on the circumference of a circle that rolls externally, without slipping, on a fixed circle. Equation: x = (a + b) cos(θ) − b cos[(a + b)θ/b] and y = (a + b) sin(θ) − b sin[(a + b)θ/b].
Origin of epicycloid
1Other words from epicycloid
- ep·i·cy·cloi·dal, adjective
- Compare epitrochoid.
Words Nearby epicycloid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use epicycloid in a sentence
The epicycloid shown is termed the “three-cusped epicycloid” or the “epicycloid of Cremona.”
External epicycloid, described by a circle rolling about a fixed circle inside of it.
The curve may be regarded as an epitrochoid (see epicycloid) in which the rolling and fixed circles have equal radii.
It follows that a line from B to M will always be tangential to the epicycloid.
Cycloid External epicycloid, described by a circle rolling about a fixed circle inside of it.
British Dictionary definitions for epicycloid
/ (ˌɛpɪˈsaɪklɔɪd) /
the curve described by a point on the circumference of a circle as this circle rolls around the outside of another fixed circle, the two circles being coplanar: Compare hypocycloid, cycloid (def. 4)
Derived forms of epicycloid
- epicycloidal, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for epicycloid
[ ĕp′ĭ-sī′kloid′ ]
The curve described by a point on the circumference of a circle as the circle rolls on the outside of the circumference of a second, fixed circle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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