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Glossary of mathematical symbols. A mathematical symbol is a figure or a combination of figures that is used to represent a mathematical object, an action on mathematical objects, a relation between mathematical objects, or for structuring the other symbols that occur in a formula. As formulas are entirely constituted with symbols of various ...
Asymptote. The graph of a function with a horizontal ( y = 0), vertical ( x = 0), and oblique asymptote (purple line, given by y = 2 x ). A curve intersecting an asymptote infinitely many times. In analytic geometry, an asymptote ( / ˈæsɪmptoʊt /) of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as ...
Catenary. A chain hanging from points forms a catenary. Freely-hanging overhead power lines also form a catenary (most prominently visible with high-voltage lines, and with some imperfection near to the insulators ). The silk on a spider's web forming multiple elastic catenaries. In physics and geometry, a catenary ( US: / ˈkætənɛri / KAT ...
In the three-dimensional case, the situation is more complicated as now one has horizontal and vertical planes in addition to horizontal and vertical lines. Consider a point P and designate a direction through P as vertical. A plane which contains P and is normal to the designated direction is the horizontal plane at P.
In Euclidean geometry, a translation is a geometric transformation that moves every point of a figure, shape or space by the same distance in a given direction. A translation can also be interpreted as the addition of a constant vector to every point, or as shifting the origin of the coordinate system. In a Euclidean space, any translation is ...
e. In geometry, a straight line, usually abbreviated line, is an infinitely long object with no width, depth, or curvature, an idealization of such physical objects as a straightedge, a taut string, or a ray of light. Lines are spaces of dimension one, which may be embedded in spaces of dimension two, three, or higher.
The blue and green lines are projections of the helix onto the vertical and horizontal planes respectively and represent how the electric field changes in the direction of those two planes. Notice how the rightward horizontal component is now one quarter of a wavelength behind the vertical component.
In studying geometry one concentrates on the position of points and on the length, orientation and curvature of lines. Geometrical–optical illusions then relate in the first instance to object characteristics as defined by geometry. Though vision is three-dimensional, in many situations depth can be factored out and attention concentrated on ...