CATENARY : Caustic curve
Click the diagram below to activate the applet, and then click the Animate button, or manually drag the red driver point along the x-axis. Both methods give a good representation of the caustic curve. Can you describe this curve? This caustic curve is not a curve we have studied before. We might describe it as a catenary (parabola?) shaped curve with an internal cusp at the base. It is quite an attractive curve! |