| 释义 |
brachisto-
comb. form of Gr. βράχιστος, superl. of βραχύς short, as in ‖ brachistocephali |bræˌkɪstəʊˈsɛfəlaɪ|, men or races with the shortest skull; brachistocephaly |-ˈsɛfəlɪ|, the quality of having the shortest type of skull. Cf. brachycephalic. Also brachistochrone |bræˈkɪstəkrəʊn| [Gr. χρόν-ος time], the curve in which a body descending to a given point under the action of gravity will perform its journey in the shortest possible time; the curve of quickest descent.
1866Huxley Preh. Rem. Caithn. 85 Sub-divide the Brachycephali into Eurycephali..and Brachistocephali. Ibid. 111 Of these, but one reaches the limits of brachistocephaly. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) i. 153 The curve of a cycloid, which was afterwards called by the hard name of a Brachystochrone, or the line of quickest descent. 1877E. Thomas tr. Lange's Materialism I. 122 The falling body reaches the goal more quickly upon the brachystochrone than upon an inclined plane. |