View source for Sinusoidal spiral

{{short description|1=Family of curves of the form r^n = a^n cos(nθ)}}

In [[Algebraic geometry|algebraic geometry]], the '''sinusoidal spirals''' are a family of curves defined by the equation in polar coordinates

:<math>r^n = a^n \cos(n \theta)\,</math>

where {{mvar|a}} is a nonzero constant and {{mvar|n}} is a [[Rational number|rational number]] other than 0. With a rotation about the origin, this can also be written

:<math>r^n = a^n \sin(n \theta).\,</math>

The term "spiral" is a misnomer, because they are not actually [[Spiral|spiral]]s, and often have a flower-like shape. Many well known curves are sinusoidal spirals including:
* [[Hyperbola#Rectangular hyperbola|Rectangular hyperbola]] ({{math|1=''n'' = &minus;2}})
* Line ({{math|1=''n'' = &minus;1}})
* [[Parabola]] ({{math|1=''n'' = &minus;1/2}})
* [[Tschirnhausen cubic]] ({{math|1=''n'' = &minus;1/3}}) 
* Cayley's sextet ({{math|1=''n'' = 1/3}})
* [[Cardioid]] ({{math|1=''n'' = 1/2}})
* [[Circle]] ({{math|1=''n'' = 1}})
* [[Lemniscate of Bernoulli]] ({{math|1=''n'' = 2}})

The curves were first studied by Colin Maclaurin.

==Equations==
Differentiating
:<math>r^n = a^n \cos(n \theta)\,</math>
and eliminating ''a'' produces a differential equation for ''r'' and &theta;:
:<math>\frac{dr}{d\theta}\cos n\theta + r\sin n\theta =0</math>.

Then
:<math>\left(\frac{dr}{ds},\ r\frac{d\theta}{ds}\right)\cos n\theta \frac{ds}{d\theta}
= \left(-r\sin n\theta ,\ r \cos n\theta \right)
= r\left(-\sin n\theta ,\ \cos n\theta \right)</math> 
which implies that the polar [[Tangential angle|tangential angle]] is 
:<math>\psi = n\theta \pm \pi/2</math> 
and so the tangential angle is 
:<math>\varphi = (n+1)\theta \pm \pi/2</math>.
(The sign here is positive if ''r'' and cos ''n''&theta; have the same sign and negative otherwise.)

The unit tangent vector,
:<math>\left(\frac{dr}{ds},\ r\frac{d\theta}{ds}\right)</math>,
has length one, so comparing the magnitude of the vectors on each side of the above equation gives
:<math>\frac{ds}{d\theta} = r \cos^{-1} n\theta = a \cos^{-1+\tfrac{1}{n}} n\theta</math>.
In particular, the length of a single loop when <math>n>0</math> is:
:<math>a\int_{-\tfrac{\pi}{2n}}^{\tfrac{\pi}{2n}} \cos^{-1+\tfrac{1}{n}} n\theta\ d\theta</math>

The [[Curvature|curvature]] is given by
:<math>\frac{d\varphi}{ds} = (n+1)\frac{d\theta}{ds} = \frac{n+1}{a} \cos^{1-\tfrac{1}{n}} n\theta</math>.

==Properties==
The [[Inverse curve|inverse]] of a sinusoidal spiral with respect to a circle with center at the origin is another sinusoidal spiral whose value of ''n'' is the negative of the original curve's value of ''n''. For example, the inverse of the lemniscate of Bernoulli is a rectangular hyperbola.

The isoptic, [[Pedal curve|pedal]] and negative pedal of a sinusoidal spiral are different sinusoidal spirals.

One path of a particle moving according to a [[Physics:Central force|central force]] proportional to a power of ''r'' is a sinusoidal spiral.

When ''n'' is an integer, and ''n'' points are arranged regularly on a circle of radius ''a'', then the set of points so that the geometric mean of the distances from the point to the ''n'' points is a sinusoidal spiral. In this case the sinusoidal spiral is a [[Polynomial lemniscate|polynomial lemniscate]].


==References==
*Yates, R. C.: ''A Handbook on Curves and Their Properties'', J. W. Edwards (1952), "Spiral" p.&nbsp;213&ndash;214
*[http://www.2dcurves.com/spiral/spirals.html "Sinusoidal spiral" at www.2dcurves.com]
*[http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Curves/Sinusoidal.html "Sinusoidal Spirals" at The MacTutor History of Mathematics]
*{{MathWorld |title=Sinusoidal Spiral |urlname=SinusoidalSpiral}}

[[Category:Plane curves]]
[[Category:Algebraic curves]]

{{Sourceattribution|Sinusoidal spiral}}