Asked by: Lexie Windler
Score: 4.9/5
(25 votes)
hélice → spiral, screw, helix, propeller, screw propeller, screw-thread.
What is the meaning of helice?
1. a spiral. 2. the curve formed by a straight line drawn on a plane when that plane is wrapped around a cylindrical surface, esp. a right circular cylinder, as the curve of a screw.
What is the plural of Helix?
plural helices ˈhe-lə-ˌsēz , ˈhē- also helixes ˈhē-lik-səz
Is helices plural?
The plural form of helix is helixes or helices.
What does the word helix mean in DNA?
A double helix is the structure of a molecule of DNA, which takes the form of two long strands twisted together. … The term comes from the Latin helix, or «spiral,» and the fact that these molecules look like ladders twisted into a spiral.
44 related questions found
Is helix a Scrabble word?
Yes, helix is in the scrabble dictionary.
What is the helix curve?
A helix, sometimes also called a coil, is a curve for which the tangent makes a constant angle with a fixed line. … Helices come in enantiomorphous left- (coils counterclockwise as it «goes away») and right-handed forms (coils clockwise).
What does double helix stand for?
Double helix is the description of the structure of a DNA molecule. A DNA molecule consists of two strands that wind around each other like a twisted ladder. Each strand has a backbone made of alternating groups of sugar (deoxyribose) and phosphate groups.
What is a helice race?
Helice is a shotgun sport that provides shooters a similar experience to hunting wild birds. Propeller-driven targets, called ZZ birds, fly from machines spinning at 5000 rpm simulating the unpredictable flight path of a live bird. On Sunday mornings, Cherokee Rose hosts a casual Helice group for 30 bird races. …
How do you use double helix in a sentence?
The two strands have been artfully twisted together, into a beautiful double helix of television that makes perfect sense. It has a double helix structure instead of the normal straight column.
Why DNA is right handed helix?
They found that at the lowest electron energies they studied, left-handed electrons preferentially destroyed left-handed molecules and vice versa. This sensitivity to molecular handedness has a mechanical analog: the inability of a left-handed bolt to screw into a right-handed nut.
What is another word for double helix?
Noun Phrase
DNA consists of two polynucleotide chains wrapped around each other in a double helix.
How do you tell if a curve is a helix?
A circular helix, (i.e. one with constant radius) has constant band curvature and constant torsion. A curve is called a general helix or cylindrical helix if its tangent makes a constant angle with a fixed line in space. A curve is a general helix if and only if the ratio of curvature to torsion is constant.
What is the helix symbol?
The Helix. The helix shape (or spiral) is a symbol of resilience. It is found throughout nature. We find the helix in galaxies and weather patterns and in every living organism’s DNA.
What is a helix on your body?
“Anatomically, the term helix describes that area of the ear.” However, there are names for different placements along that curve. A flat helix lies on the flat part of the inside of your ear, while a forward helix is on the cartilage closest to your face.
Is HEIX a word?
hexi is an acceptable dictionary word for games like scrabble, words with friends, crossword, etc. The word ‘hexi’ is made up of 4 letters.
Is RNA a single helix?
Unlike double-stranded DNA, RNA is a single-stranded molecule in many of its biological roles and consists of much shorter chains of nucleotides. However, a single RNA molecule can, by complementary base pairing, form intrastrand double helixes, as in tRNA.
What gives double helix structure?
In 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson first described the molecular structure of DNA, which they called a «double helix,» in the journal Nature. … The chemical backbones of the double helix are made up of sugar and phosphate molecules that are connected by chemical bonds, known as sugar-phosphate backbones.
Is DNA actually a double helix?
DNA is a double-stranded helix, with the two strands connected by hydrogen bonds.
What is an example of a double helix?
The structure of DNA is called a double helix, which looks like a twisted staircase. The sugar and phosphate make up the backbone, while the nitrogen bases are found in the center and hold the two strands together.
What’s a DNA molecule?
Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is a complex molecule that contains all of the information necessary to build and maintain an organism. All living things have DNA within their cells. … In other words, whenever organisms reproduce, a portion of their DNA is passed along to their offspring.
What is meant by a double helix quizlet?
double helix. twisted-ladder shape of DNA, formed by two nucleotide strands twisted around each other.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The right-handed helix (cos t, sin t, t) from t = 0 to 4π with arrowheads showing direction of increasing t
A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, and many proteins have helical substructures, known as alpha helices. The word helix comes from the Greek word ἕλιξ, «twisted, curved».[1]
A «filled-in» helix – for example, a «spiral» (helical) ramp – is a surface called helicoid.[2]
Properties and types[edit]
The pitch of a helix is the height of one complete helix turn, measured parallel to the axis of the helix.
A double helix consists of two (typically congruent) helices with the same axis, differing by a translation along the axis.[3]
A circular helix (i.e. one with constant radius) has constant band curvature and constant torsion.
A conic helix, also known as a conic spiral, may be defined as a spiral on a conic surface, with the distance to the apex an exponential function of the angle indicating direction from the axis.
A curve is called a general helix or cylindrical helix[4] if its tangent makes a constant angle with a fixed line in space. A curve is a general helix if and only if the ratio of curvature to torsion is constant.[5]
A curve is called a slant helix if its principal normal makes a constant angle with a fixed line in space.[6] It can be constructed by applying a transformation to the moving frame of a general helix.[7]
For more general helix-like space curves can be found, see space spiral; e.g., spherical spiral.
Handedness[edit]
Helices can be either right-handed or left-handed. With the line of sight along the helix’s axis, if a clockwise screwing motion moves the helix away from the observer, then it is called a right-handed helix; if towards the observer, then it is a left-handed helix. Handedness (or chirality) is a property of the helix, not of the perspective: a right-handed helix cannot be turned to look like a left-handed one unless it is viewed in a mirror, and vice versa.
Two types of helix shown in comparison. This shows the two chiralities of helices. One is left-handed and the other is right-handed. Each row compares the two helices from a different perspective. The chirality is a property of the object, not of the perspective (view-angle)
Mathematical description[edit]
A helix composed of sinusoidal x and y components
In mathematics, a helix is a curve in 3-dimensional space. The following parametrisation in Cartesian coordinates defines a particular helix;[8] perhaps the simplest equations for one is
As the parameter t increases, the point (x(t),y(t),z(t)) traces a right-handed helix of pitch 2π (or slope 1) and radius 1 about the z-axis, in a right-handed coordinate system.
In cylindrical coordinates (r, θ, h), the same helix is parametrised by:
A circular helix of radius a and slope a/b (or pitch 2πb) is described by the following parametrisation:
Another way of mathematically constructing a helix is to plot the complex-valued function exi as a function of the real number x (see Euler’s formula).
The value of x and the real and imaginary parts of the function value give this plot three real dimensions.
Except for rotations, translations, and changes of scale, all right-handed helices are equivalent to the helix defined above. The equivalent left-handed helix can be constructed in a number of ways, the simplest being to negate any one of the x, y or z components.
Arc length, curvature and torsion[edit]
The arc length of a circular helix of radius a and slope a/b (or pitch = 2πb) expressed in Cartesian coordinates as
equals , its curvature is
and its torsion is
A helix has constant non-zero curvature and torsion.
A helix is the vector-valued function
So a helix can be reparameterized as a function of , which must be unit-speed:
The unit tangent vector is
The normal vector is
Its curvature is .
The unit normal vector is
The binormal vector is
Its torsion is .
Examples[edit]
An example of double helix in molecular biology is the nucleic acid double helix.
An example of conic helix is the Corkscrew roller coaster at Cedar Point amusement park.
Some curves found in nature consist of multiple helices of different handedness joined together by transitions known as tendril perversions.
Most hardware screw threads are right-handed helices. The alpha helix in biology as well as the A and B forms of DNA are also right-handed helices. The Z form of DNA is left-handed.
In music, pitch space is often modeled with helices or double helices, most often extending out of a circle such as the circle of fifths, so as to represent octave equivalency.
In aviation, geometric pitch is the distance an element of an airplane propeller would advance in one revolution if it were moving along a helix having an angle equal to that between the chord of the element and a plane perpendicular to the propeller axis; see also: pitch angle (aviation).
-
A natural left-handed helix, made by a climber plant
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A charged particle in a uniform magnetic field following a helical path
-
See also[edit]
Look up helix in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
- Alpha helix
- Arc spring
- Boerdijk–Coxeter helix
- Circular polarization
- Collagen helix
- Helical symmetry
- Helicity
- Helix angle
- Helical axis
- Hemihelix
- Seashell surface
- Solenoid
- Superhelix
- Triple helix
References[edit]
- ^ ἕλιξ Archived 2012-10-16 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
- ^ Weisstein, Eric W. «Helicoid». MathWorld.
- ^ «Double Helix Archived 2008-04-30 at the Wayback Machine» by Sándor Kabai, Wolfram Demonstrations Project.
- ^ O’Neill, B. Elementary Differential Geometry, 1961 pg 72
- ^ O’Neill, B. Elementary Differential Geometry, 1961 pg 74
- ^ Izumiya, S. and Takeuchi, N. (2004) New special curves and developable surfaces. Turk J Math Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, 28:153–163.
- ^ Menninger, T. (2013), An Explicit Parametrization of the Frenet Apparatus of the Slant Helix. arXiv:1302.3175 Archived 2018-02-05 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Weisstein, Eric W. «Helix». MathWorld.
Definitions For Helix
noun
- Type genus of the family Helicidae
- A structure consisting of something wound in a continuous series of loops
- A curve that lies on the surface of a cylinder or cone and cuts the element at a constant angle
- The shape formed by a line that curves around and along a central line
Words With Friends
YES
Scrabble US
YES
Scrabble UK
YES
English International (SOWPODS)
YES
Scrabble Global
YES
Enable1 Dictionary
YES
Points in Different Games
Scrabble
15
Words with Friends
15
The word Helix is worth 15 points in Scrabble and 15 points in Words with Friends
Synonyms for Helix
coil
spiral
volute
whorl
Words that Start with Helix
Words that End with Helix
Words that Contain with Helix
Words that Rhyme with Helix
Look up a Word
Search the dictionary for definitions, synonyms, antonyms, rhymes, and more!
1
: something spiral in form: such as
b
: a coil formed by winding wire around a uniform tube
2
: the incurved rim of the external ear
3
: a curve traced on a cylinder or cone by the rotation of a point crossing its right sections at a constant oblique angle
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
It is located at the interface within a helix bundle at the base of the prefusion spike.
—William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 17 Mar. 2023
Semi-evergreen ground covers often seen in Chicago-area yards include periwinkle (Vinca minor), English ivy (Hedera helix), wintercreeper (Euonymous fortunei), Japanese pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) and liriope (Liriope spicata).
—Beth Botts, chicagotribune.com, 20 Nov. 2021
Understanding the helix‘s structure and function may well be key to solidifying its association with cancer.
—Breanna Draxler, Discover Magazine, 21 Jan. 2013
Off-season, the waterfall pool and double-helix slide and pool are heated to over 85 degrees.
—Robin Soslow, Chron, 16 Feb. 2023
In 1962, Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins shared the Nobel Prize for describing DNA’s double-helix structure — arguably the greatest discovery of the 20th century.
—Mark Barna, Discover Magazine, 16 Dec. 2022
The spiral helix will rotate downwards and extract the cork.
—Maya Polton, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Jan. 2023
Behind him, light glints off the rungs of a golden helix rising up through the staircase’s airy well.
—Time, 12 Jan. 2023
Because methyl groups are attached to the genes, residing beside but separate from the double-helix DNA code, the field was dubbed epigenetics, from the prefix epi (Greek for over, outer, above).
—Dan Hurley, Discover Magazine, 25 June 2015
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘helix.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin, from Greek; akin to Greek eilyein to roll, wrap — more at voluble
First Known Use
1563, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of helix was
in 1563
Dictionary Entries Near helix
Cite this Entry
“Helix.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/helix. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
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6 Apr 2023
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
‘HELIX’ is a 5 letter
Word
starting with H and ending with X
All Solutions for HELIX
Clue | Answer |
---|---|
|
|
HELIX (4) |
COIL |
HELIX (6) |
SPIRAL |
HELIX (7) |
MOLLUSC |
HELIX (9) |
CORKSCREW |
Synonyms, crossword answers and other related words for HELIX
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Top answers for HELIX crossword clue from newspapers
Definition of helix
- a curve that lies on the surface of a cylinder or cone and cuts the element at a constant angle; type genus of the family Helicidae
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Score for HELIX
HELIX is an official word in Scrabble with 15 points.