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Bear with me on this, it does come back to words.
The mathematical equation whose graph is an ellipse is:
a * (x to the 2nd power) + b * (y to the 2nd power) = 1,
where a and b are any constants. a and be determine the size of the ellipse and how elongated it is. If a=b the result is a circle; thus a circle is a particular kind of an ellipse.
About 20 years ago a Dane, Piet Hein, experimented to see what kind of shape you'd get if you graphed a similar equation but change the 2's above. He found that if you change that number to about one-and-a-half, you get an esthetically pleasing shape, a compromise between an oval and a rectangle: one would roughly describe it as a rectangle with the corners cut off.
The term for that shape is "superellipse" Furniture in the Danish Modern style furniture often uses superellipses as, for example, the share of a tabletops. Danish traffic engineers design traffic ellipses in that shape, to minimize the sharp curves at the ends of the ellipse.
Hein has also authored numberous pithy poems, called "grooks".
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Aggies
Sparteye 08/30/01 03:53 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
maverick 08/30/01 06:02 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Faldage 08/30/01 06:06 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
wwh 08/30/01 06:37 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
of troy 08/30/01 07:28 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
tsuwm 08/30/01 06:57 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
wwh 08/30/01 07:32 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
tsuwm 08/30/01 07:46 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Faldage 08/30/01 07:56 PM ![]()
Re: a lady?
tsuwm 08/30/01 08:04 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
wwh 08/30/01 09:36 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
tsuwm 08/30/01 11:18 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Faldage 08/31/01 02:06 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Kupatchka 08/30/01 11:20 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Flatlander 08/30/01 07:30 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies et al
Faldage 08/30/01 07:34 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
jimthedog 08/30/01 07:42 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
of troy 08/30/01 08:09 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
wwh 08/30/01 09:17 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies, not!
Faldage 08/31/01 02:13 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Sparteye 08/31/01 12:09 AM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Sparteye 09/01/01 12:38 AM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Sparteye 09/06/01 05:46 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
wwh 09/06/01 08:35 PM ![]()
Re: Tom Lehrer
wow 09/07/01 02:48 PM ![]()
Harvard fight song
TEd Remington 09/07/01 03:00 PM ![]()
Re: Harvard fight song
Flatlander 09/07/01 03:03 PM ![]()
Re: Harvard fight song
TEd Remington 09/28/01 04:39 PM ![]()
Re: superellipse
Keiva 09/28/01 09:07 PM ![]()
Re: superellipse
Keiva 09/28/01 09:07 PM ![]()
Re: Harvard fight song
wow 09/07/01 03:31 PM ![]()
Re: Fairies, schmairies
Faldage 09/07/01 03:53 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Sparteye 09/10/01 06:29 PM ![]()
Re: Aggies
Faldage 09/10/01 06:43 PM ![]()
Re: Spartans
Keiva 09/30/01 11:45 AM ![]()
Re: that other Michigan team
consuelo 09/30/01 02:47 PM ![]()
Re: Spartans
Jazzoctopus 09/30/01 04:10 PM ![]()
Re: a challenge: the Caxi
Keiva 09/27/01 05:59 PM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
Faldage 09/27/01 06:22 PM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
Keiva 09/27/01 11:02 PM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
Jackie 09/28/01 01:13 AM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
inselpeter 09/28/01 03:05 AM ![]()
Re: post deleted by Keiva
Keiva 09/28/01 11:49 AM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
Keiva 09/28/01 11:49 AM ![]()
Re: Caxis
Keiva 09/30/01 11:38 AM ![]()
Re: Caxis
Jackie 09/30/01 03:55 PM ![]()
Re: Caxis
inselpeter 09/30/01 04:11 PM ![]()
Audience
consuelo 09/30/01 05:14 PM ![]()
Re: Audience
Keiva 09/30/01 10:06 PM ![]()
Re: Dunno bout no Caxis
Faldage 09/28/01 01:56 PM
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