# Is there a mathematical term for the droplet shape in a Paisley design?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 11, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115 "2010-05-11T23:12:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\
**Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/1 "2010-05-11T23:12:54Z")

</div>

Is there a mathematical term for the droplet shape in a Paisley design? I see it called twisted teardrop and terms from India and the Middle East but I don’t find a mathematical name for it.

In some advanced analytical geometry course somewhere is there not even be a formula for it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/2 "2010-05-12T00:24:59Z")

</div>

In terms of mappings from the complex plane to itself, you can get a nice paisley-like shape via a [Joukowski transform](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joukowsky_transform).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/3 "2010-05-12T00:29:29Z")

</div>

I have a degree in math and have call it the half-blobby, half-pointy, bendy thing if that helps.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/4 "2010-05-12T00:46:28Z")

</div>

[Some paisleys are fractals](http://www.enchgallery.com/fractals/fractalpages/paisley.htm) and some [fractals are paisleys](http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdflip/1254338949/).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\
**Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/5 "2010-05-13T21:33:40Z")

</div>

> [@astro](#):
>
> [Some paisleys are fractals](http://www.enchgallery.com/fractals/fractalpages/paisley.htm) and some [fractals are paisleys](http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdflip/1254338949/).

Thank you astro. Can you find a link to an answer to the question “Is there a mathematical term for the _droplet shape_ in a Paisley design?”

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\
**Post date:** [May 14, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-mathematical-term-for-the-droplet-shape-in-a-paisley-design/539115/6 "2010-05-14T03:22:35Z")

</div>

I looked through the mug shots at the [National Curve Bank](http://curvebank.calstatela.edu/home/home.htm), and I didn’t find a named curve that looks quite like a paisley. [Joukowski’s Airfoil](http://math.fullerton.edu/mathews/c2003/JoukowskiTransMod.html), to echo **MikeS** , seems like the closest thing to a mathematical version of a paisley droplet.