CentralNotice From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation , search This article is about the mathematical curve. For other uses, see Catenary (disambiguation) . "Chainette" redirects here. For the wine grape also known as Chainette, see Cinsaut . A hanging chain with short links forms a catenary. Freely-hanging electric power cables (especially those used on electrified railways) can also form a catenary. The silk on a spider's web forming multiple elastic catenaries. In physics and geometry , a catenary [p] is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends. The curve has a U-like shape, superficially similar in appearance to a parabola , but it is not a parabola: it is a (scaled, rotated) graph of the hyperbolic cosine . The curve appears in the design of certain types of...