The parbelos, a parabolic analog of the arbelos

DOI10.4169/AMER.MATH.MONTHLY.120.10.929MaRDI QIDQ5404052zbMATH OpenOpenAlexWikidataFDO

Authors Jonathan Sondow

Publication date 20 March 2014

Published in The American Mathematical Monthly (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1210.2279

zbMATH Keywords

focusdirectrixlatus rectumuniversal parabolic constantLambert's theoremArchimedean arbelosshoe-maker's knifesimilar figuresparbelos

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Euclidean analytic geometry (51N20) History of geometry (51-03) Length, area and volume in real or complex geometry (51M25) Elementary problems in Euclidean geometries (51M04) Geometric constructions in real or complex geometry (51M15) General histories, source books (01A05)

Abstract: The arbelos is a classical geometric shape bounded by three mutually tangent semicircles with collinear diameters. We introduce a parabolic analog, the parbelos. After a review of the parabola, we use theorems of Archimedes and Lambert to demonstrate seven properties of the parbelos, drawing analogies to similar properties of the arbelos, some of which may be new. The seventh constructs a parbelos directly from an arbelos via a locus. Along the way we mention the Universal Parabolic Constant (an analog of pi) and an origami fold.

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Cited in

(7)

• Solution of Sondow's problem: a synthetic proof of the tangency property of the parbelos
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 7497499 (Why is no real title available?)
• Hypergeometry of the parbelos
• Two beautiful geometrical theorems by Abū Sahl Kūhī in a 17th century Dutch translation
• Reflections on the Arbelos
• Moments in Pearson's four-step uniform random walk problem and other applications of very well-poised generalized hypergeometric series
• The \(f\)-belos

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