Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The oblate spheroid is generated by rotation about the z-axis of an ellipse with semi-major axis a and semi-minor axis c, therefore e may be identified as the eccentricity. (See ellipse.) [2] A prolate spheroid with c > a has surface area
The three coordinate surfaces of prolate spheroidal coordinates. The red prolate spheroid (stretched sphere) corresponds to μ = 1, and the blue two-sheet hyperboloid corresponds to ν = 45°. The yellow half-plane corresponds to φ = −60°, which is measured relative to the x-axis (highlighted in green).
If the third axis is shorter, the ellipsoid is a sphere that has been flattened (called an oblate spheroid). If the third axis is longer, it is a sphere that has been lengthened (called a prolate spheroid). If the three axes have the same length, the ellipsoid is a sphere.
The unusual cosmic abundance of alpha nuclides has inspired geometric arrangements of alpha particles as a solution to nuclear shapes, although the atomic nucleus generally assumes a prolate spheroid shape. Nuclides can also be discus-shaped (oblate deformation), triaxial (a combination of oblate and prolate deformation) or pear-shaped. [7] [8]
Pioneering work in this area was performed by Slepian and Pollak, [4] Landau and Pollak, [5] [6] and Slepian. [7] [8] Prolate spheroidal wave functions whose domain is a (portion of) the surface of the unit sphere are more generally called "Slepian functions". [9] These are of great utility in disciplines such as geodesy, [10] cosmology, [11 ...
A data set which describes the global average of the Earth's surface curvature is called the mean Earth Ellipsoid. It refers to a theoretical coherence between the geographic latitude and the meridional curvature of the geoid. The latter is close to the mean sea level, and therefore an ideal Earth ellipsoid has the same volume as the geoid.
The red oblate spheroid (flattened sphere) corresponds to μ = 1, whereas the blue half-hyperboloid corresponds to ν = 45°. The azimuth φ = −60° measures the dihedral angle between the green xz half-plane and the yellow half-plane that includes the point P. The Cartesian coordinates of P are roughly (1.09, −1.89, 1.66).
The motion is simplified in the case of an axisymmetric body, in which the moment of inertia is the same about two of the principal axes. These cases include rotation of a prolate spheroid (the shape of an American football), or rotation of an oblate spheroid (the shape of a flattened sphere). In this case, the angular velocity describes a cone ...