helicoid
/ˈhiːlɪkɔɪd
/noun
1A helical or spiral object.If the disk's surface curved a lot, the disk could arrange itself only one way - as a double spiral staircase like a helicoid.
1.1 Geometry A surface formed by simultaneously moving a straight line along an axis and rotating it around it (like a screw thread).One of the clues that a helicoid is an efficient surface and not just an accident is its ubiquity in nature.
adjective
Of the form of a helix or helicoid.Arthropod cuticle can produce unusual optical effects, analogous to solutions of liquid crystals, resulting from a layered, helicoid structure....
- The pin count for that cooler was 371 helicoid pins.
- This new helicoid pin design increases surface area for heat dissipation.
Derivatives
helicoidal
/ adjective ...- The pattern of currents was originally represented as a spiral or helicoidal flow, but more complex cells of circulation have since been identified which can influence the distribution of erosion and deposition.
- The energy is expressed in terms of the six helicoidal parameters: twist, tilt, roll, shift, slide, and rise.
- One could pursue this type of analysis further and compute, for example, the correlations between two different helicoidal parameters in different steps, etc.
Origin
Late 17th century: from Greek helikoeidēs 'of spiral form', from helix, helik- (see helix).