Abstract
We analyse the helical motion of organisms, concentrating on the means by which organisms change the direction in space of the axis of the helical trajectory, which is the net direction of motion. We demonstrate that the direction of the axis is determined largely by the direction of the organism's rotational velocity. Changes in direction of the rotational velocity, with respect to the organism's body, change the direction in space of the axis of the helical trajectory. Conversely, changes in direction of the translational velocity, with respect to the body of the organism, have little effect on the direction in space of the axis of the trajectory. Because the axis of helical motion is the net direction of motion, it is likely that organisms that move in helices change direction by pointing their rotational velocity, not their translational velocity, in a new direction.
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Crenshaw, H.C., Edelstein-Keshet, L. Orientation by helical motion—II. Changing the direction of the axis of motion. Bltn Mathcal Biology 55, 213–230 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02460303
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02460303