Spiral Star

Spiral Star

Sometimes, you don’t need complicated stuff to get beautiful images. Sometimes it’s easily done. Today’s Math Art was generated on Microsoft Excel. Yes, you read that right. Microsoft Excel. The VBA code was originally coded by John Walkenbach, Microsoft MVP. And today’s Math Art is a hypocycloid.

Remember those spirographs that you played with when you were a kid? If you’ve ever drawn using a spirograph, you’ve drawn a hypocycloid. A hypocycloid is a roulette of two circles, where the one being drawn on is the one inside (think the spirograph). If the outer circle is the one being drawn it’s called a epicycloid. The variable that defines the shape of the hypocycloid is the radii of both circles.

This picture is simple and clean. It’s not overly complicated or overly simplistic (like some I generated with varying radii of the circles) And anyone can draw it with the correct tools (like a spirograph). You don’t really have to know the mathematical formulae behind this, it’s just pretty.

Also, still on a hypocycloid, Art Trouble posted a very interesting video - Art, or Very Kewl Ride?. Do watch it. It’s fun.

And also, here’s an online spirograph, for you to generate your own epicycloid or hypocycloid. (Both links courtesy of wikipedia)

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You’re currently reading “ Spiral Star ”, an entry on Math Art

Published:
December 5, 2007 / 1:33 am
Category:
Art in Math
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