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1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Serpentine (geometry)

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4792801911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 24 — Serpentine (geometry)

SERPENTINE, in geometry, a cubic curve described by Sir Isaac Newton, and given by the cartesian equation y(a2 + x2) = abx. The origin is a point of inflection, the axis of x is an asymptote, and the curve lies between the parallel lines 2y = ±b.