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Peaucellier's cell   (English)

Definition (keystage 3)

A linkage which allows a straight line to be drawn without a ruler.
The linkage consists of a fixed point A and a rhombus of links BCDE; AB and AD are links also. As point C moves along a curve, E traces out the inverse of this curve.
By adding a fixed point O and a link OC such that OC=OA, we constrain C to move on a circle, so E traces out the inverse of a circle; a line.

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