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In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactly the same curves. One description of a parabola involves a point (the focus) and a line (the directrix). The focus does not lie on the ...
Hemihelix, a quasi-helical shape characterized by multiple tendril perversions; Tendril perversion (a transition between back-to-back helices) Seiffert's spiral; Slinky spiral; Space cardioid; Twisted cubic; Viviani's curve
M-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter M (interchangeable with the W-shape) N-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter N (interchangeable with the Z-shape) O-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter O. O-ring; P-shape, the shape that resembles the capital letter P. P-trap, a P-shaped pipe under a sink or basin
A chain hanging from points forms a catenary. The silk on a spider's web forming multiple elastic catenaries.. In physics and geometry, a catenary (US: / ˈ k æ t ən ɛr i / KAT-ən-err-ee, UK: / k ə ˈ t iː n ər i / kə-TEE-nər-ee) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field.
The values of u, v, w such that g(u, v, w) = 0 are the homogeneous coordinates of the points of the completion of the curve in the projective plane and the points of the initial curve are those such that w is not zero. An example is the Fermat curve u n + v n = w n, which has an affine form x n + y n = 1. A similar process of homogenization may ...
A family of conic sections of varying eccentricity share a focus point and directrix line, including an ellipse (red, e = 1/2), a parabola (green, e = 1), and a hyperbola (blue, e = 2). The conic of eccentricity 0 in this figure is an infinitesimal circle centered at the focus, and the conic of eccentricity ∞ is an infinitesimally separated ...
Strictly, the three-dimensional shape of the reflector is called a paraboloid. A parabola is the two-dimensional figure. (The distinction is like that between a sphere and a circle.) However, in informal language, the word parabola and its associated adjective parabolic are often used in place of paraboloid and paraboloidal. [2]
The point (,) is the vertex of the parabola. Pencil of confocal parabolas From the definition of a parabola , for any point P {\displaystyle P} not on the x -axis, there is a unique parabola with focus at the origin opening to the right and a unique parabola with focus at the origin opening to the left, intersecting orthogonally at the point P ...