Comments on: The Brachistochrone Challenge https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/the-brachistochrone-challenge/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Sun, 21 Jun 2026 12:42:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Lucklucky https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/the-brachistochrone-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-1511123 Lucklucky Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:41:46 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35895#comment-1511123 Thanks for the pointer, Candide III.

]]> By: Candide III https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/the-brachistochrone-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-1503494 Candide III Sun, 31 Aug 2014 13:14:11 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35895#comment-1503494 Handle: same here.

Lucklucky: IIRC that was actually the original motivation, to use in a clock. An ordinary pendulum’s frequency depends on the amplitude, so Huygens developed his cycloid pendulum solution.

]]> By: Lucklucky https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/the-brachistochrone-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-1501834 Lucklucky Sat, 30 Aug 2014 22:51:31 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35895#comment-1501834 Inverted cycloid is also the curve where whatever place along it you put a ball they get to the end at same time.

]]> By: Handle https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/the-brachistochrone-challenge/comment-page-1/#comment-1501470 Handle Sat, 30 Aug 2014 20:09:48 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35895#comment-1501470 Deriving things like the brachistochrone and catenary or fibonacci equations were some of the most motivating puzzles of my teenage years. There’s something especially beautiful about understanding the logic of curves with natural significance and which appear all around us. A million people can look at a bridge, but how many have ever give through the motions of understanding exactly why it looks precisely like that.

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