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Brachistochrone curve facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Brachistochrone
The ball on the red Brachistochrone curve reaches the other side before the other two balls.

A Brachistochrone curve is the fastest path for a ball to roll between two points that are at different heights. A ball can roll along the curve faster than a straight line between the points.

The curve will always be the quickest route regardless of how strong gravity is or how heavy the object is. However, it might not be the quickest if there is friction.

The curve can be found using calculus of variations and optimal control.

Images for kids

  • Galileo's Shortest Time Curve Conjecture

    Diagrams for Wikipedia entry regarding Galileo's Conjecture

  • Brachistochrone Bernoulli Direct Method

    Brachistochrone Bernoulli Direct Method

  • Bernoulli Challenge to Newton 1

    Bernoulli Challenge to Newton 1

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Curva braquistócrona para niños

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