English Dictionary: funicular curve | by the DICT Development Group |
1 result for funicular curve | |
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Funicular \Fu*nic"u*lar\, a. [Cf. F. funiculaire.] 1. Consisting of a small cord or fiber. 2. Dependent on the tension of a cord. 3. (Anat.) Pertaining to a funiculus; made up of, or resembling, a funiculus, or funiculi; as, a funicular ligament. {Funicular action} (Mech.), the force or action exerted by a rope in drawing together the supports to which its ends are Fastened, when acted upon by forces applied in a direction transverse to the rope, as in the archer's bow. {Funicular curve}. Same as {Catenary}. {Funicular machine} (Mech.), an apparatus for illustrating certain principles in statics, consisting of a cord or chain attached at one end to a fixed point, and having the other passed over a pulley and sustaining a weight, while one or more other weights are suspended from the cord at points between the fixed support and the pulley. {Funicular polygon} (Mech.), the polygonal figure assumed by a cord fastened at its extremities, and sustaining weights at different points. |