Herpolhode

A herpolhode is the curve traced out by the endpoint of the

.

The trajectory of the angular velocity around the angular momentum in the invariable plane is a circle in the case of a

, but in the general case wiggles inside an annulus, while still being concave towards the angular momentum.

See also

• Poinsot's construction
• Polhode

References

H. Goldstein, Classical Mechanics, Addison-Wesley (1950), p. 159 ff.

V. I. Arnold, Mathematical Methods of Classical Mechanics, Second edition, Springer (1989), p. 146.