Monkey saddle
In mathematics, the monkey saddle is the surface defined by the equation
or in cylindrical coordinates
It belongs to the class of
would require two depressions for the legs and one for the tail. The point on the monkey saddle corresponds to a degenerate critical point of the function at . The monkey saddle has an isolated umbilical point with zero Gaussian curvature at the origin, while the curvature is strictly negative at all other points.One can relate the rectangular and cylindrical equations using complex numbers
By replacing 3 in the cylindrical equation with any integer one can create a saddle with depressions. [1]
Another orientation of the monkey saddle is the Smelt petal defined by so that the z-axis of the monkey saddle corresponds to the direction in the Smelt petal.[2][3]
Horse saddle
The term horse saddle may be used in contrast to monkey saddle, to designate an ordinary saddle surface in which z(x,y) has a
point of inflection
in every direction.
References
- ^ Peckham, S.D. (2011) Monkey, starfish and octopus saddles, Proceedings of Geomorphometry 2011, Redlands, CA, pp. 31-34, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256808897_Monkey_Starfish_and_Octopus_Saddles
- )
- ^ Chesser, H.; Rimrott, F.P.J. (1985). Rasmussen, H. (ed.). "Magnus Triangle and Smelt Petal". CANCAM '85: Proceedings, Tenth Canadian Congress of Applied Mechanics, June 2-7, 1985, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.