Thom's eggs are egg-shaped curves constructed using multiple circles. Thom (1967) used them to model Megalithic stone rings in Britain.

In Type I, two circular arcs join a semicircle to a smaller circular arc at the pointed end. The centers of the two joining arcs lie on the line through the center of the semicircle and perpendicular to the axis of symmetry. Together with the two end centers, they form a pair of right triangles reflected across the axis of symmetry (Thom 1967, pp. 29-30).

The figure above shows a Type I egg based on right triangles. The general four-arc oval formulas give the radii and the centers of the joining arcs in terms of the end radii and their separation.

See also

Cundy and Rollett's Egg, Egg, Moss's Egg, Oval, Pentagon Egg

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References

Dixon, R. Mathographics. New York: Dover, p. 6, 1991.Thom, A. "Mathematical Background." Ch. 4 in Megalithic Sites in Britain. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, pp. 27-33, 1967.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Thom's Eggs

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Thom's Eggs." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ThomsEggs.html

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