David Merrill (in ogwCe.182504$xm3.89741@attbi_s21) said:

| "Morris Dovey" wrote in message
| ...
|| snip...
||
|| What I need is an algebraic expression representing the distance
|| along the parabola from the vertex to any point (x,y) on the
|| parabola so I can lay out the shape of a petal for cutting from
|| flat stock.
|
| http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...2arc+length%22

Dave...

Thanks - I'd done a google search and hadn't found an article that I
could regognize as a solution to my problem (may be a vocabulary
problem on my part) and guessed (correctly) that this would be a good
forum in which to ask.

It's interesting to note that a query to rec.woodworking produced a
usable solution immediately, while the same query to sci.math (where
it's probably more topical) hasn't produced any response at all.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html