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arXiv · 1207.0834

Tractrices, Bicycle Tire Tracks, Hatchet Planimeters, and a 100-year-old Conjecture

R. L. Foote·M. Levi·S. Tabachnikov
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Abstract

Geometry of the tracks left by a bicycle is closely related with the so-called Prytz planimeter and with linear fractional transformations of the complex plane. We describe these relations, along with the history of the problem, and give a proof of a conjecture made by Menzin in 1906.

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R. L. Foote, M. Levi, S. Tabachnikov. 2012-07-03. Tractrices, Bicycle Tire Tracks, Hatchet Planimeters, and a 100-year-old Conjecture. https://arxiv.org/abs/1207.0834

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