Internet Encyclopedia of Science
PLANE CURVES
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unduloid


unduloid droplets on a spider's web
A member of a family curves that is formed by films or liquid drops suspended between certain boundaries. Examples of unduloids are seen on a spider web when viewed through a microscope. They consist of blobs of viscous liquid, which make up the sticky part of the web and are mostly gathered into a lemon shape.

The family of unduloids includes shapes ranging from very thin to almost spherical, depending on the diameter of the thread and the volume of liquid in the blob. The shape of the curve is a result of the equality of pressure throughout the blob, which means that the total curvature at all points on the surface must be the same. The total curvature is the sum as the curvatures in two planes at right angles, and so varies from one blob to the next. A common property of all unduloids, however, is that they have a constant non-zero mean curvature.


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   • PLANE CURVES


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