Answer: A cardioid is a mathematical curve that is shaped like a heart or a stylized Valentine's Day symbol. It is a type of epitrochoid, which is a curve that is created by tracing a point on a smaller circle as it rolls around the perimeter of a larger circle.
More specifically, a cardioid is the locus of points traced by a point on a circle as it rolls around another fixed circle with the same radius. The resulting curve has a single cusp, which is located at the point where the rolling circle is tangent to the fixed circle. The name "cardioid" comes from the Greek word "kardia," which means heart, because of the curve's heart-like shape.
Cardioids have many interesting properties and applications in mathematics, physics, and engineering. For example, cardioids can be used to model the path of a point on a bicycle wheel as it rolls along a straight line, the shape of a reflector in a microphone or loudspeaker, or the pattern of light produced by a lighthouse.
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