#curve
- To deviate — To move away from a direction, rule, or established path, or to change the normal course of a phenomenon. In behavioral psychology, it is used when a patient deviates from a treatment plan (non-compliance), and in epidemiology, it describes the moment a pandemic curve deviates from the initial predictive model due to sanitary interventions.
- Adiabat — A curve that graphically represents in a coordinate system (such as the Clapeyron diagram) the state evolution of a thermodynamic system during an adiabatic process, meaning a transformation that takes place without heat exchange with the external environment. This mathematical structural element reflects the relations between pressure, volume, and temperature under conditions of perfect thermal isolation.
- Archaic bent — Having been bent, curved, flexed, or folded from a straight position into an angular one; a malleable object or material whose geometric shape was modified through the application of a mechanical force. It represents the past participle form of the regional verb 'adoi', used today extremely rarely, exclusively in literary texts reconstituting the speech of past craftsmen.
- Altoona — A historic city in the United States of America, located in the state of Pennsylvania; founded in the year 1849 by the Pennsylvania Railroad company as a major industrial and logistics center for locomotive construction and maintenance, globally recognized for the famous 'Horseshoe Curve' railroad track.
- Alveogram — A diagram, curve, or chart recorded by an alveograph, visually expressing the structural behavior and tensile strength of a dough bubble as a function of time and pressure. The analysis of this curve allows the calculation of essential technological indices (P, L, G, W), used to evaluate the baking quality of flour.
- Amylogram — A diagram or graphic curve recorded by an amylograph, rendering the variation in viscosity of a flour or starch suspension in relation to temperature and time. This structural representation allows the precise determination of the gelatinization onset point, maximum viscosity, and enzymatic degradation rate of the analyzed paste.
- Anseiform — Presenting the shape of a loop, handle, or lasso; having a curved or arched geometric configuration. In comparative anatomy and zoology, the term describes organs, blood vessels, excretory ducts, or bony and cuticular structures whose anatomical trajectory forms a tight loop before connecting with another structural segment.
- Antipedal curve — A plane geometric curve or derived figure obtained as the locus of the feet of perpendiculars drawn from a fixed point (called a pole) onto the normals of a given curve; also, it can define a structural property related to podal curves in higher analytical geometry. This concept is used in studying kinematic properties and complex geometric transformations of lines.
- Antipolar line — A straight line or derived geometric curve associated with a fixed point (called a pole) within a dual geometric transformation based on inversion, having contrary or symmetrical properties relative to a classical polar line. This structural element is used in higher projective geometry to study inverse polar coordinate systems and the tangency properties of conics.
- Bow (armă) — An ancient missile weapon for launching arrows, consisting of a curved elastic rod and a cord stretched tightly between its ends. In geometry, it represents a continuous portion of a curve or a circle bounded by two points. In physics and engineering, it is an elastic mechanical element (helical spring, leaf spring) designed to cushion shocks or store mechanical energy. In architecture, it denotes a curved load-bearing structure supporting a vault or wall.
- Arched — Having a curved, bent, or vaulted shape resembling an arch; a structural or geometric element specially configured to distribute weight or to follow a concave or convex trajectory. In architecture, it describes an opening, ceiling, or bridge supported by mechanical arches.
- Arched — Having undergone the process of arciuire; an object, construction element, or material that features an intentionally curved, bent, convex, or arched shape. In a structural sense, it describes a component in a state of constant elastic tension or an architectural element such as a vault or arch that distributes load weight toward the supporting pillars.
- Arcuate — Having a curved, bent, or vaulted shape resembling an arc; exhibiting a continuous arched geometric line. In architecture, it describes a structure supported by curved elements or a door/window opening topped by an arch. In anatomy, the term is used to define various structural formations, ligaments, or arteries that follow a curved trajectory (such as the arcuate artery of the foot).
- To arch — To give an object the shape of an arch, to curve, bend, or vault mechanically; to bend under the weight of a load or under the action of an external force, acquiring a concave or convex line. In a structural sense, it defines the property of an elastic body to deform temporarily without breaking and to subsequently return to its original shape.
- Arched — Having undergone the process of arching; an object, structural element, or geometric profile brought into the shape of an arc, curved or bent with microscopic precision. In a functional sense, it describes the final state of a structurally tensioned elastic body (such as a bow ready for shooting) or the curved outer appearance of architectural components used to embellish monumental building facades.
- Harmonograph — A mechanical apparatus or device consisting of a system of oscillating pendulums, used to draw and graphically visualize complex geometric curves resulting from the combination of two or more sinusoidal harmonic or vibratory motions.
- Astrophotometry — A fundamental branch of practical astrophysics that deals with measuring the intensity, flux, and brightness of radiant energy (light) emitted by celestial bodies across different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Data obtained through astrophotometry (using photometers or CCD sensors) allow astronomers to determine cosmic distances, surface temperatures, rotational periods of variable stars, and to detect exoplanets via the transit method.
- Astroid — A remarkable plane curve with four sharp cusps, resembling a four-pointed star, generated by the trajectory of a fixed point on the circumference of a circle that rolls without slipping inside another fixed circle with a radius four times larger (a particular hypocycloid). Algebraically, its implicit Cartesian equation is x^(2/3) + y^(2/3) = a^(2/3), being extensively studied in analytical geometry due to its remarkable properties related to the envelope of a line segment of constant length.
- Self-fitted curve — An adapted form or rare technical neologism used to describe a self-adjusted mathematical function, curve, or regression line over a set of experimental data. In advanced statistical analysis, it represents the property of an algorithm to automatically optimize equation parameters to minimize approximation errors.
- Self-isotherm — A self-isotherm; a curve or graphical representation within a thermodynamic coordinate system showing the variation of state parameters of a body or physical system that maintains a constant temperature through its own internal regulation or energy compensation mechanisms, without guided external thermal input. In physico-chemical processes, the line describes autonomous thermal equilibrium phenomena occurring in closed or structurally isolated systems.