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About This Tool
This tool computes the curvature of a elastic rod (e.g. tent pole) compressed between two endpoints and compares it to a simpler approximation using a parabolic curve. This can be used for designing dome tents, tunnel tents, etc.
Full credit for this calculation goes to Willmac8 at Physics forum for the original code, which was converted to Python by /u/bbhank on Reddit. I have just converted the Python script to Javascript for this page, and added the parabola comparison with a nice plot and data table.
Input Parameters (unitless):
- Width: The distance between the endpoints (must be less than length).
- Length: The length of the pole to compress between the two endpoints.
- Steps: The number of coordinate points to calculate (higher = smoother curve).
Example lengths from a 2 pole dome tent: 3.84m long pole, 2.7m between pole fixing points.
