Abstract
The shapes of two wires in a vertical plane with the same starting and ending points are described as complementary curves of descent if beads frictionlessly slide down both of them in the same time, starting from rest. Every analytic curve has a unique complement, except for a cycloid (solution of the brachistochrone problem), which is self complementary. A striking example is a straight wire whose complement is a lemniscate of Bernoulli. Alternatively, the wires can be tracks down which round objects undergo a rolling race. The level of presentation is appropriate for an intermediate undergraduate course in classical mechanics.
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