The Archimedean spiral (also known as the arithmetic spiral) is a spiral named after the 3rd century BC Greek mathematician Archimedes. It is the locus of points corresponding to the locations over time of a point moving away from a fixed point with a constant speed along a line which rotates with constant angular velocity. Equivalently, in polar coordinates (r, θ) it can be described by the equation
with real numbers a and b. Changing the parameter a will turn the spiral, while b controls the distance between successive turnings.
Archimedes described such a spiral in his book On Spirals.
Read more about Archimedean Spiral: Characteristics, General Archimedean Spiral, Applications
Famous quotes containing the word spiral:
“The spiral is a spiritualized circle. In the spiral form, the circle, uncoiled, unwound, has ceased to be vicious; it has been set free.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)