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Epicycloid

## Summary

In geometry, an epicycloid is a plane curve produced by tracing the path of a chosen point on the circumference of a circle—called an epicycle—which rolls without slipping around a fixed circle. It is a particular kind of roulette.

The red curve is an epicycloid traced as the small circle (radius r = 1) rolls around the outside of the large circle (radius R = 3).

## Equations

If the smaller circle has radius r, and the larger circle has radius R = kr, then the parametric equations for the curve can be given by either:

${\displaystyle x(\theta )=(R+r)\cos \theta \ -r\cos \left({\frac {R+r}{r}}\theta \right)}$
${\displaystyle y(\theta )=(R+r)\sin \theta \ -r\sin \left({\frac {R+r}{r}}\theta \right),}$

or:

${\displaystyle x(\theta )=r(k+1)\cos \theta -r\cos \left((k+1)\theta \right)\,}$
${\displaystyle y(\theta )=r(k+1)\sin \theta -r\sin \left((k+1)\theta \right).\,}$

in a more concise and complex form[1]

${\displaystyle z(\theta )=r(e^{i(k+1)\theta }-(k+1)e^{i\theta })}$

where

• angle ${\displaystyle \theta }$  is in turns: ${\displaystyle \theta \in [0,2\pi ].}$
• smaller circle has radius r
• the larger circle has radius kr

## Area

(Assuming the initial point lies on the larger circle.) When k is a positive integer, the area of this epicycloid is

${\displaystyle A=(k+1)(k+2)\pi r^{2}.}$

If k is a positive integer, then the curve is closed, and has k cusps (i.e., sharp corners).

If k is a rational number, say k = p / q expressed as irreducible fraction, then the curve has p cusps.

 To close the curve and complete the 1st repeating pattern : θ = 0 to q rotations α = 0 to p rotations total rotations of outer rolling circle = p + q rotations

Count the animation rotations to see p and q .

If k is an irrational number, then the curve never closes, and forms a dense subset of the space between the larger circle and a circle of radius R + 2r.

The distance OP from (x=0,y=0) origin to (the point ${\displaystyle p}$  on the small circle) varies up and down as

R <= OP <= (R + 2r)

R = radius of large circle and

2r = diameter of small circle

The epicycloid is a special kind of epitrochoid.

An epicycle with one cusp is a cardioid, two cusps is a nephroid.

An epicycloid and its evolute are similar.[2]

## Proof

sketch for proof

We assume that the position of ${\displaystyle p}$  is what we want to solve, ${\displaystyle \alpha }$  is the angle from the tangential point to the moving point ${\displaystyle p}$ , and ${\displaystyle \theta }$  is the angle from the starting point to the tangential point.

Since there is no sliding between the two cycles, then we have that

${\displaystyle \ell _{R}=\ell _{r}}$

By the definition of angle (which is the rate arc over radius), then we have that

${\displaystyle \ell _{R}=\theta R}$

and

${\displaystyle \ell _{r}=\alpha r}$ .

From these two conditions, we get the identity

${\displaystyle \theta R=\alpha r}$ .

By calculating, we get the relation between ${\displaystyle \alpha }$  and ${\displaystyle \theta }$ , which is

${\displaystyle \alpha ={\frac {R}{r}}\theta }$ .

From the figure, we see the position of the point ${\displaystyle p}$  on the small circle clearly.

${\displaystyle x=\left(R+r\right)\cos \theta -r\cos \left(\theta +\alpha \right)=\left(R+r\right)\cos \theta -r\cos \left({\frac {R+r}{r}}\theta \right)}$
${\displaystyle y=\left(R+r\right)\sin \theta -r\sin \left(\theta +\alpha \right)=\left(R+r\right)\sin \theta -r\sin \left({\frac {R+r}{r}}\theta \right)}$

## See also

Animated gif with turtle in MSWLogo (Cardioid)[3]

## References

• J. Dennis Lawrence (1972). A catalog of special plane curves. Dover Publications. pp. 161, 168–170, 175. ISBN 978-0-486-60288-2.
1. ^ Epicycloids and Blaschke products by Chunlei Cao, Alastair Fletcher, Zhuan Ye
2. ^ Epicycloid Evolute - from Wolfram MathWorld
3. ^ Pietrocola, Giorgio (2005). "Tartapelago". Maecla.