I wrote previously that lemniscate meant "shaped like an infinity symbol."

http://wordsmith.org/board/ubbthreads.ph...=true#Post59953

Well, that's kind of indirectly true, but what it really means according to the online references is "ribboned" as in "decorated with ribbons." I think one site may have said something similar to "like a flowing ribbon."

The infinity symbol that looks like a numeral "8" on its side is a lemniscate. It has a different meaning than the alephs, which denote the size (what we call "cardinality" of sets). The lemniscate is meant to symbolize some unachievable limit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinity

I guess the first mathematicians who used the symbol in this way liked the way the points just came back on each other.

Variants of it can be described by formulae in Cartesian coordinates, e.g.
(x^2 + y^2)^2 = a^2 (x^2 - y^2)

But I prefer using polar coordinates (because it's easier to program as a function):
r^2 = a^2 cos(2theta)

Some vague references online to lemiscate being applied to an order of transparent, ribbon-shaped fish, but not much detail.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting.

it IS interesting. that's a neat word and concept.

re shapely words.....great topic, sorry I missed it.

just did goolge search for images......

And...I find that I use them when Quilting.....(never thought about that before).

What do you call it when your ribbon in a lemniscate shape is also a Möbius strip?

I don't know. What DO you call it when your ribbon in a lemniscate shape is also a Möbius strip?

I don't know either. That's why I asked.

ba-doom-tish


a single-sided lemniscate? a uniplanar lemniscate?

maybe a square!






Take two ordinary, untwisted loops. Stick them together at right angles to each other.
Now do the same with an ordinary strip and a Möbius strip.
With each set of strips, if you cut down the middle of both strips, you will get a square

Forays into the Land of Wikipedia...One, sleepless night.

Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...

s, such as those awarded in competitions like the Olympics, often feature a neck ribbon configured as a Möbius strip. This allows the ribbon to fit comfortably around the neck while the medal lies flat on the chest.

Cool.