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Rolling Circles

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Mathematica in Action
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Abstract

A variation of the Reuleaux triangle was used in 1939 to describe a device that can drill a perfect square hole. The image shows how, when the outer shape rotates inside a square, the triangular cutting tool traces out an exact square. One can use this to build a device that transforms standard circular motion into motion that drives the Reuleaux rotor in the proper way, and so drills a perfect square hole.

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Wagon, S. (2010). Rolling Circles. In: Wagon, S. (eds) Mathematica in Action. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75477-2_4

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