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Parabola. Part of a parabola (blue), with various features (other colours). The complete parabola has no endpoints. In this orientation, it extends infinitely to the left, right, and upward. The parabola is a member of the family of conic sections. In mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U ...
Circular paraboloid. A parabolic (or paraboloid or paraboloidal) reflector (or dish or mirror) is a reflective surface used to collect or project energy such as light, sound, or radio waves. Its shape is part of a circular paraboloid, that is, the surface generated by a parabola revolving around its axis. The parabolic reflector transforms an ...
Hyperbola. A hyperbola is an open curve with two branches, the intersection of a plane with both halves of a double cone. The plane does not have to be parallel to the axis of the cone; the hyperbola will be symmetrical in any case. Hyperbola (red): features. In mathematics, a hyperbola is a type of smooth curve lying in a plane, defined by its ...
Paraboloid. In geometry, a paraboloid is a quadric surface that has exactly one axis of symmetry and no center of symmetry. The term "paraboloid" is derived from parabola, which refers to a conic section that has a similar property of symmetry. Every plane section of a paraboloid by a plane parallel to the axis of symmetry is a parabola.
In mathematics, a parametric equation defines a group of quantities as functions of one or more independent variables called parameters. [1] Parametric equations are commonly used to express the coordinates of the points that make up a geometric object such as a curve or surface, called a parametric curve and parametric surface, respectively.
Cubic equation. Graph of a cubic function with 3 real roots (where the curve crosses the horizontal axis at y = 0 ). The case shown has two critical points. Here the function is and therefore the three real roots are 2, -1 and -4. In algebra, a cubic equation in one variable is an equation of the form in which a is not zero.
In mathematics, the eccentricity of a conic section is a non-negative real number that uniquely characterizes its shape. One can think of the eccentricity as a measure of how much a conic section deviates from being circular. In particular: The eccentricity of a circle is 0. The eccentricity of an ellipse which is not a circle is between 0 and 1.
The line of thrust. Unlike a catenary arch, the parabolic arch employs the principle that when weight is uniformly applied above, the internal compression (see line of thrust) resulting from that weight will follow a parabolic curve. Of all arch types, the parabolic arch produces the most thrust at the base. Also, it can span the widest area.