hyperbola - Hutchinson encyclopedia article about hyperbola Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,728,136,424 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

hyperbola

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.

hyperbola

Enlarge picture
The hyperbola is produced when a cone is cut by a plane. It is one of a family of curves called conic sections: the circle, ellipse, and parabola. These curves are produced when the plane cuts the cone at different angles and positions.

In geometry, a curve formed by cutting a right circular cone with a plane so that the angle between the plane and the base is greater than the angle between the base and the side of the cone. All hyperbolae are bounded by two asymptotes (straight lines to which the hyperbola moves closer and closer to but never reaches).

A hyperbola is a member of the family of curves known as conic sections.

A hyperbola can also be defined as a path traced by a point that moves such that the ratio of its distance from a fixed point (focus) and a fixed straight line (directrix) is a constant and greater than 1; that is, it has an eccentricity greater than 1.



How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
?Sign in SSL protected
Email:
Password:
Register

? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
What I particularly like in your definition of the hyperbola (I was going to say hyperblague) is that it is still more obscure than the word you pretend to define.
 
Hutchinson browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Hutchinson Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.