--- In curves_surfaces@yahoogroups.com, "aneesh venkatraman"
<aneesh_82@y...> wrote:
> I am looking for literature on the curve, "Alysoid". If anyone has
> come across any book or a publication in which these curves are
> described, please let me know. It is very urgent.

Same as Catenary, a very familiar curve. From Mathworld Wolfram site:

"The word catenary is derived from the Latin word for "chain." In
1669,Jungius disproved Galileo's claim that the curve of a chain
hanging under gravity would be a parabola (MacTutor Archive). The
curve is also called the alysoid and chainette. The equation was
obtained by Leibniz , Huygens .."