MLchartDataset catalogue

Brachistochrone

Term · Oil and gas · MLC-T-OAG-000442

The curve along which a particle slides under gravity between two points in the least time, an arc of a cycloid. In seismology it is the ray path in a medium whose velocity increases with the square root of depth, as Fermat's principle of least time requires. In a medium whose velocity increases linearly with depth the fastest ray path is instead a circular arc.

Table 1. Record
IdentifierMLC-T-OAG-000442
FieldOil and gas
SubjectGeophysics
Record as JSON 
{
  "id": "MLC-T-OAG-000442",
  "term": "Brachistochrone",
  "field": "Oil and gas",
  "definition": "The curve along which a particle slides under gravity between two points in the least time, an arc of a cycloid. In seismology it is the ray path in a medium whose velocity increases with the square root of depth, as Fermat's principle of least time requires. In a medium whose velocity increases linearly with depth the fastest ray path is instead a circular arc.",
  "subject": "Geophysics",
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/oil-and-gas/brachistochrone/"
}

Record 475 of 4,469 in Oil and gas terminology (MLC-0103). Request the full dataset.