Cylindroid 2007-02-11 16:39:28 2007-02-23 11:47:33 Definition cylinder % this is the default PlanetMath preamble. as your knowledge % of TeX increases, you will probably want to edit this, but % it should be fine as is for beginners. % almost certainly you want these \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{amsfonts} % used for TeXing text within eps files %\usepackage{psfrag} % need this for including graphics (\includegraphics) %\usepackage{graphicx} % for neatly defining theorems and propositions %\usepackage{amsthm} % making logically defined graphics %\usepackage{xypic} % there are many more packages, add them here as you need them % define commands here At the most general level, a {\em cylindroid} is simply a cylinder that has been deformed in an intentional and well-defined way. The barrel die used in certain board role-playing games are sometimes described as being cylindroids in shape. Most mathematical dictionaries that define the term at all say nothing more than ``a cylinder with an elliptical cross-section.'' (see for example the {\it Harper-Collins Dictionary of Mathematics} and the {\it Oxford Concise Dictionary of Mathematics}.) The term is also used for certain conoids, such as Pl\"ucker's conoid. The term is usually not included in general pocket dictionaries. The {\it Random House Unabridged Dictionary} defines cylindroid the noun as ``a solid having the form of a cylinder, esp[ecially] one with an elliptical, as opposed to a circular, cross section,'' and the adjective as ``resembling a cylinder.'' \begin{thebibliography}{1} \bibitem{sr} S. P. Radzevich, ``A Possibility of Application of Pliicker's Conoid for Mathematical Modeling of Contact of Two Smooth Regular Surfaces in the First Order of Tangency'', {\it Mathematical and Computer Modelling} {\bf 42} (2005): 999 - 1022 \end{thebibliography}