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Conicsection
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Inmathematics,aconicsection(orsimplyconic)isacurveobtainedastheintersectionof
aconewithaplane.Thethreetypesofconicsectionarethehyperbola,theparabola,and
theellipse.Thecircleisaspecialcaseoftheellipse,andisofsufficientinterestinitsown
rightthatitwassometimescalledafourthtypeofconicsection.Theconicsectionshave
beenstudiedbytheancientGreekmathematicianswiththisworkculminatingaround200
BC,whenApolloniusofPergaundertookasystematicstudyoftheirproperties.
TherearemanydistinguishingpropertiesthattheconicsectionsoftheEuclideanplane
haveandmanyofthesecan,andhavebeen,usedasthebasisforadefinitionoftheconic
sections.Ageometricpropertythathasbeenuseddefinesanoncircularconic[1]tobethe
setofthosepointswhosedistancestosomeparticularpoint,calledafocus,andsome
particularline,calledadirectrix,areinafixedratio,calledtheeccentricity.Thetypeof
conicisdeterminedbythevalueoftheeccentricity.Inanalyticgeometry,aconicmaybe
definedasaplanealgebraiccurveofdegree2,thatis,asthesetofpointswhose
coordinatessatisfyaquadraticequationintwovariables.Thisequationmaybewrittenin
matrixformandsomegeometricpropertiescanbestudiedasalgebraicconditions.

Typesofconicsections:
1.Parabola
2.Circleandellipse
3.Hyperbola

IntheEuclideanplane,theconicsectionsappeartobequitedifferentfromoneanotheryetthey
sharemanysimilarproperties.Byextendingthegeometrytoaprojectiveplane(addingalineat
infinity)thisappearancedisappearsandthecommonalitybecomesapparent.Furtherextension,by
expandingtherealcoordinatestoadmitcomplexcoordinatesprovidesthemeanstoseethis
unificationalgebraically.

Contents
1 Euclideangeometry
1.1 Definition
1.2 Eccentricity,focusanddirectrix
1.3 StandardformsinCartesiancoordinates
1.4 Conicparameters
1.5 Polarcoordinates
1.6 Generalform

Tableofconics,Cyclopaedia,1728

1.6.1 Matrixnotation
1.6.2 Discriminant
1.6.3 Eccentricityintermsofcoefficients
1.7 Properties
2 History
2.1 Menaechmusandearlyworks
2.2 ApolloniusofPerga
2.3 AlKuhi
2.4 OmarKhayym
2.5 Europe
3 Applications
4 Intherealprojectiveplane
4.1 Intersectionatinfinity
4.2 Homogeneouscoordinates
4.3 Projectivedefinitionofacircle
4.4 Steiner'sprojectiveconicdefinition
4.5 Lineconics

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4.5 Lineconics
4.6 VonStaudt'sdefinition
4.7 Construction
5 Inthecomplexprojectiveplane
6 Degeneratecases
7 Pencilofconics
8 Intersectingtwoconics
9 Generalizations
10 Inotherareasofmathematics
11 Seealso
12 Notes
13 References
14 Externallinks

Euclideangeometry
TheconicsectionshavebeenstudiedforthousandsofyearsandhaveprovidedarichsourceofinterestingandbeautifulresultsinEuclidean
geometry.

Definition
Aconicisthecurveobtainedastheintersectionofaplane,calledthecuttingplane,witha
doublecone(aconewithtwonappes).Weshallassumethattheconeisarightcircularcone
forthepurposeofeasydescription,butthisisnotrequired,anydoubleconewithsome
circularcrosssectionwillsuffice.Planesthatpassthroughthevertexoftheconewill
intersecttheconeinapoint,alineorapairofintersectinglines.Thesearecalled
degenerateconicsandsomeauthorsdonotconsiderthemtobeconicsatall.Unless
otherwisestated,weshallassumethat"conic"referstoanondegenerateconic.
Therearethreetypesofconics,theellipse,parabola,andhyperbola.Thecircleisaspecial
kindofellipse,althoughhistoricallyithadbeenconsideredasafourthtype(asitwasby
Apollonius).Thecircleandtheellipsearisewhentheintersectionoftheconeandplaneisa
closedcurve.Thecircleisobtainedwhenthecuttingplaneisparalleltotheplaneofthe
generatingcircleoftheconeforarightcone,seediagram,thismeansthatthecutting
planeisperpendiculartothesymmetryaxisofthecone.Ifthecuttingplaneisparallelto
exactlyonegeneratinglineofthecone,thentheconicisunboundedandiscalleda
parabola.Intheremainingcase,thefigureisahyperbola.Inthiscase,theplanewill
intersectbothhalvesofthecone,producingtwoseparateunboundedcurves.

Eccentricity,focusanddirectrix
Apropertythattheconicsectionsshareisoftenpresentedasthefollowingdefinition.Aconic
sectionisthelocusofallpointsPwhosedistancetoafixedpointF(calledthefocusofthe
conic)isaconstantmultiple(calledtheeccentricity,e)ofthedistancefromPtoafixedline
L(calledthedirectrixoftheconic).For0<e<1weobtainanellipse,fore=1aparabola,
andfore>1ahyperbola.
Acircleisalimitingcaseandisnotdefinedbyafocusanddirectrix,intheplane(however,
seethesectionontheextensiontoprojectiveplanes).Theeccentricityofacircleisdefinedto
bezeroanditsfocusisthecenterofthecircle,butthereisnolineintheEuclideanplanethat
isitsdirectrix.[2]
Anellipseandahyperbolaeachhavetwofocianddistinctdirectricesforeachofthem.The
linejoiningthefociiscalledtheprincipalaxisandthepointsofintersectionoftheconicwith
theprincipalaxisarecalledtheverticesoftheconic.Thelinesegmentjoiningtheverticesof
aconiciscalledthemajoraxisandforahyperbola,alsocalledthetransverseaxis.The
midpointofthislinesegmentiscalledthecenteroftheconic.[3]Letadenotethedistance
fromthecentertoavertexofanellipseorhyperbola.Thedistancefromthecentertoa
a
directrixis whilethedistancefromthecentertoafocusisae.[4]
e

Ellipse(e=1/2),parabola(e=1)andhyperbola
(e=2)withfixedfocusFanddirectrix(e=).

Aparaboladoesnothaveacenter.
Theeccentricityofanellipsecanbeseenasameasureofhowfartheellipsedeviatesfrombeingcircular.
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Aproofthattheconicsectionsgivenbythefocusdirectrixpropertyarethesameasthosegivenbyplanesintersectingaconeisfacilitatedby
theuseofDandelinspheres.[5]

StandardformsinCartesiancoordinates
AfterintroducingCartesiancoordinatesthefocusdirectrix
propertycanbeusedtoproduceequationsthatthe
coordinatesofthepointsoftheconicsectionmustsatisfy.[6]
Bymeansofachangeofcoordinates(arotationofaxesand
atranslationofaxes)theseequationscanbeputinto
standardforms.[7]Forellipsesand(general)hyperbolasa
standardformwouldhavethexaxisastheprincipalaxisand
theorigin(thepoint(0,0))asthecenter.Theverticeswould
havecoordinates(a,0)andfocicoordinates(c,0).
Definebbytheequationsc2=a2b2foranellipseand
c2=a2+b2forahyperbola.Foracircle,c=0so
Standardformsofaparabola
a2=b2.Fortheparabola,thestandardformhasthefocus
onthexaxisatthepoint(a,0)andthedirectrixtheline
withequationx=a.Instandardformtheparabolawillalwayspassthroughtheorigin.A
specialcaseofthehyperbolaoccurswhenitsasymptotesareperpendiculartoeachother.This
specialcaseiscalledarectangularorequilateralhyperbola.Inthiscase,thestandardform
isobtainedbytakingtheasymptotesasthecoordinateaxesandthelinex=yastheprincipal
axis.Thefociwouldhavecoordinates(c,c)and(c,c).[8]
Circle:x2+y2=a2
x2 y2
Ellipse: a2 + b2 =1
Parabola:y2=4axwitha>0
x2 y2
Hyperbola: 2 2 =1
a
b

Standardformsofanellipse

Standardformsofahyperbola

c2
Rectangularhyperbola:[9]xy= 2
Thefirstfouroftheseformsaresymmetricaboutboththexaxisandyaxis(forthecircle,ellipseandhyperbola),orabouteitherbutnotboth
(fortheparabola).Therectangularhyperbola,however,isinsteadsymmetricaboutthelinesy=xandy=x.
Thesestandardformscanbewrittenparametricallyas,
Circle:(acos,asin),
Ellipse:(acos,bsin),
Parabola:(at2,2at),
Hyperbola:(asec,btan)or(acoshu,bsinhu),
d
c
Rectangularhyperbola:(dt, )whered= .
t
2

Conicparameters
Variousparametersareassociatedwithaconicsection.Recallthatthe
principleaxisisthelinejoiningthefociofanellipseorhyperbola,andthe
centerinthesecasesisthemidpointofthelinesegmentjoiningthefoci.
Someoftheothercommonfeaturesand/orparametersofconicsaregiven
below.
Thelineareccentricity(c)isthedistancebetweenthecenterandthefocus
(oroneofthetwofoci).
Thelatusrectumisthechordparalleltothedirectrixandpassingthrough
thefocus(oroneofthetwofoci).It'slengthisdenotedby2.
Thesemilatusrectum()ishalfofthelengthofthelatusrectum.
Thefocalparameter(p)isthedistancefromthefocus(oroneofthetwo
foci)tothedirectrix.

Conicparametersinthecaseofanellipse

Whenanellipseorhyperbolaareinstandardposition(theprincipleaxisisthexaxisandthecenteristheorigin)theverticesoftheconichave
coordinates(a,0)and(a,0),withanonnegative.
Thesemimajoraxisisthevaluea.
ThesemiminoraxisisthevaluebinthestandardCartesianequationoftheellipseorhyperbola.
Thefollowingrelationshold:

Theseparametersarerelatedasshowninthefollowingtable,wherethestandardpositionisassumed.Inallcases,aandbarepositive.

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Theseparametersarerelatedasshowninthefollowingtable,wherethestandardpositionisassumed.Inallcases,aandbarepositive.
conicsection

equation

eccentricity(e) lineareccentricity(c) semilatusrectum() focalparameter(p)

circle
ellipse
parabola

N/A

hyperbola

Polarcoordinates
Inpolarcoordinates,aconicsectionwithonefocusattheoriginand,ifany,theotherata
negativevalue(foranellipse)orapositivevalue(forahyperbola)onthexaxis,isgivenbythe
equation

whereeistheeccentricityandlisthesemilatusrectum.
Asabove,fore=0,wehaveacircle,for0<e<1weobtainanellipse,fore=1aparabola,
andfore>1ahyperbola.
ThepolarformoftheequationofaconicisoftenusedinDynamicsforinstance,determiningthe
orbitsofobjectsrevolvingabouttheSun.[10]
Developmentoftheconicsectionasthe
eccentricityeincreases

Generalform

IntheCartesiancoordinatesystem,thegraphofaquadraticequationintwovariablesisalwaysa
conicsection(thoughitmaybedegenerate[11]),andallconicsectionsariseinthisway.Themostgeneralequationisoftheform[12]

withallcoefficientsrealnumbersandA,B,Cnotallzero.
Matrixnotation
Theaboveequationcanbewritteninmatrixnotationas[13]

Thegeneralequationcanalsobewrittenas

Thisformisaspecializationofthehomogeneousformusedinthemoregeneralsettingofprojectivegeometry(seebelow).
Thetraceanddeterminantof

arebothinvariantwithrespecttorotationofaxesandtranslationoftheplane(movementofthe

origin).[14][15]
TheconstanttermFisinvariantunderrotationonly.
Discriminant
Theconicsectionsdescribedbythisequationcanbeclassifiedwiththediscriminantoftheequation[16]

Iftheconicisnondegenerate,then:[14]
ifB24AC<0,theequationrepresentsanellipse
ifA=CandB=0,theequationrepresentsacircle,whichisaspecialcaseofanellipse
ifB24AC=0,theequationrepresentsaparabola
ifB24AC>0,theequationrepresentsahyperbola
ifwealsohaveA+C=0,theequationrepresentsarectangularhyperbola.
NotethatAandBarepolynomialcoefficients,notthelengthsofsemimajor/minoraxisasdefinedinsomesources.

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NotethatAandBarepolynomialcoefficients,notthelengthsofsemimajor/minoraxisasdefinedinsomesources.
ThediscriminantofaquadraticequationaswellasthequantityA+Careinvariantunderarbitraryrotationsandtranslationsofthecoordinate
axes.[17]
Thediscriminantis4whereisthematrixdeterminant
Eccentricityintermsofcoefficients
Whentheconicsectioniswrittenalgebraicallyas

theeccentricitycanbewrittenasafunctionofthecoefficientsofthequadraticequation.[18]If4AC=B2theconicisaparabolaandits
eccentricityequals1(provideditisnondegenerate).Otherwise,assumingtheequationrepresentseitheranondegeneratehyperbolaorellipse,
theeccentricityisgivenby

where=1ifthedeterminantofthe33matrix(above)isnegativeand=1ifthatdeterminantispositive.

Properties
Justastwo(distinct)pointsdeterminealine,fivepointsdetermineaconic.Formally,givenanyfivepointsintheplaneingenerallinear
position,meaningnothreecollinear,thereisauniqueconicpassingthroughthem,whichwillbenondegeneratethisistrueinboththe
Euclideanplaneanditsextension,therealprojectiveplane.Indeed,givenanyfivepointsthereisaconicpassingthroughthem,butifthreeof
thepointsarecollineartheconicwillbedegenerate(reducible,becauseitcontainsaline),andmaynotbeuniqueseefurtherdiscussion.
Fourpointsintheplaneingenerallinearpositiondetermineauniqueconicpassingthroughthefirstthreepointsandhavingthefourthpointas
itscenter.Thusknowingthecenterisequivalenttoknowingtwopointsontheconicforthepurposeofdeterminingthecurve.[19]
Furthermore,aconicisdeterminedbyanycombinationofkpointsingeneralpositionthatitpassesthroughand5klinesthataretangenttoit,
for0k5.[20]
Alltheconicsectionsshareareflectionpropertythatcanbestatedas:Allmirrorsintheshapeofanondegenerateconicsectionreflectlight
comingfromorgoingtoonefocustowardstheotherfocus.Inthecaseoftheparabola,thesecondfocusneedstobethoughtofasinfinitelyfar
away,sothatthelightraysareparalleltoeachother.[21]
Pascal'stheoremconcernsthecollinearityofthreepointsthatareconstructedfromasetofsixpointsonanynondegenerateconic.The
theoremalsoholdsfordegenerateconicsconsistingoftwolines,butinthatcaseitisknownasPappus'stheorem.
Nondegenerateconicsectionsarealways"smooth".Thisisimportantformanyapplications,suchasaerodynamics,whereasmoothsurfaceis
requiredtoensurelaminarflowandtopreventturbulence.

History
Menaechmusandearlyworks
ItisbelievedthatthefirstdefinitionofaconicsectionisduetoMenaechmus(died320BCE)aspartofhissolution[22]oftheDelianproblem
(Duplicatingthecube).[23]Hisworkdidnotsurvive,noteventhenamesheusedforthesecurves,andisonlyknownthroughsecondary
accounts.[24]Thedefinitionusedatthattimediffersfromtheonecommonlyusedtoday.Coneswereconstructedbyrotatingarighttriangle
aboutoneofitslegssothehypotenusegeneratesthesurfaceofthecone(suchalineiscalledageneratrix).Threetypesofconeswere
determinedbytheirvertexangles(measuredbytwicetheangleformedbythehypotenuseandthelegbeingrotatedaboutintherighttriangle).
Theconicsectionwasthendeterminedbyintersectingoneoftheseconeswithaplanedrawnperpendiculartoageneratrix.Thetypeofthe
conicisdeterminedbythetypeofcone,thatis,bytheangleformedatthevertexofthecone:Iftheangleisacutethentheconicisanellipse
iftheangleisrightthentheconicisaparabolaandiftheangleisobtusethentheconicisahyperbola(butonlyonebranchofthecurve).[25]
Euclid(fl.300BCE)issaidtohavewrittenfourbooksonconicsbutthesewerelostaswell.[26]Archimedes(diedc.212BCE)isknownto
havestudiedconics,havingdeterminedtheareaboundedbyaparabolaandachordinQuadratureoftheParabola.Hismaininterestwasin
termsofmeasuringareasandvolumesoffiguresrelatedtotheconicsandpartofthisworksurvivesinhisbookonthesolidsofrevolutionof
conics,OnConoidsandSpheroids.[27]

ApolloniusofPerga
ThegreatestprogressinthestudyofconicsbytheancientGreeksisduetoApolloniusofPerga(diedc.190BCE),whoseeightvolumeConic
SectionsorConicssummarizedandgreatlyextendedexistingknowledge.Apollonius'sstudyofthepropertiesofthesecurvesmadeitpossible
toshowthatanyplanecuttingafixeddoublecone(twonapped),regardlessofitsangle,willproduceaconicaccordingtotheearlier
definition,leadingtothedefinitioncommonlyusedtoday.Circles,notconstructablebytheearliermethod,arealsoobtainableinthisway.
ThismayaccountforwhyApolloniusconsideredcirclesafourthtypeofconicsection,adistinctionthatisnolongermade.Apolloniusused
thenamesellipse,parabolaandhyperbolaforthesecurves,borrowingtheterminologyfromearlierPythagoreanworkonareas.[28]
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PappusofAlexandria(diedc.350CE)iscreditedwithexpoundingontheimportanceoftheconceptof
aconic'sfocus,anddetailingtherelatedconceptofadirectrix,includingthecaseoftheparabola
(whichislackinginApollonius'sknownworks).[29]

AlKuhi
Aninstrumentfordrawingconicsectionswasfirstdescribedin1000CEbytheIslamicmathematician
AlKuhi.[30][31]

OmarKhayym

DiagramfromApollonius'Conics,in
a9thcenturyArabictranslation

Apollonius'sworkwastranslatedintoArabicandmuchofhisworkonlysurvivesthroughtheArabicversion.Persiansfoundapplicationsto
thetheorythemostnotableofthesewasthePersian[32]mathematicianandpoetOmarKhayymwhousedconicsectionstosolvealgebraic
equations.

Europe
JohannesKeplerextendedthetheoryofconicsthroughthe"principleofcontinuity",aprecursortotheconceptoflimits.Keplerfirstusedthe
termfociin1604.[33]
GirardDesarguesandBlaisePascaldevelopedatheoryofconicsusinganearlyformofprojectivegeometryandthishelpedtoprovide
impetusforthestudyofthisnewfield.Inparticular,Pascaldiscoveredatheoremknownasthehexagrammummysticumfromwhichmany
otherpropertiesofconicscanbededuced.
RenDescartesandPierreFermatbothappliedtheirnewlydiscoveredAnalyticgeometrytothestudyofconics.Thishadtheeffectof
reducingthegeometricalproblemsofconicstoproblemsinalgebra.However,itwasJohnWallisinhis1655treatiseTractatusdesectionibus
coniciswhofirstdefinedtheconicsectionsasinstancesofequationsofseconddegree.[34]Writtenearlier,butpublishedlater,JandeWitt's
ElementacurvarumstartswithKepler'skinematicconstructionoftheconicsandthendevelopsthealgebraicequations.Thiswork,whichuses
Fermat'smethodologyandDescartes'notationhasbeendescribedasthefirsttextbookonthesubject.[35]DeWittinventedtheterm
directrix.[35]

Applications
Conicsectionsareimportantinastronomy:theorbitsoftwomassiveobjectsthatinteractaccordingto
Newton'slawofuniversalgravitationareconicsectionsiftheircommoncenterofmassisconsidered
tobeatrest.Iftheyareboundtogether,theywillbothtraceoutellipsesiftheyaremovingapart,they
willbothfollowparabolasorhyperbolas.Seetwobodyproblem.
Forcertainfossilsinpaleontology,understandingconicsectionscanhelpunderstandthethree
dimensionalshapeofcertainorganisms.
Thereflectivepropertiesoftheconicsectionsareusedinthedesignofsearchlights,radiotelescopes
andsomeopticaltelescopes.[36]Aparabolicmirrorisusedasthereflector,withabulbatthefocus,ina
searchlight.The4.2meterHerschelopticaltelescopeonLaPalma,intheCanaryislands,usesa
primaryparabolicmirrortoreflectlighttowardsasecondaryhyperbolicmirror,whichreflectsitagain
toafocusbehindthefirstmirror.

Theparaboloidshapeof
Archeocyathidsproducesconic
sectionsonrockfaces

Forspecificapplicationsofeachtypeofconicsection,seethearticlescircle,ellipse,parabola,andhyperbola.

Intherealprojectiveplane
TheconicsectionshavesomeverysimilarpropertiesintheEuclideanplaneandthereasonsforthisbecomeclearerwhentheconicsare
viewedfromtheperspectiveofalargergeometry.TheEuclideanplanemaybeembeddedintherealprojectiveplaneandtheconicsmaybe
consideredasobjectsinthisprojectivegeometry.Onewaytodothisistointroducehomogeneouscoordinatesanddefineaconictobetheset
ofpointswhosecoordinatessatisfyanirreduciblequadraticequationinthreevariables(orequivalently,thezerosofanirreduciblequadratic
form).Moretechnically,thesetofpointsthatarezerosofaquadraticform(inanynumberofvariables)iscalledaquadric,andtheirreducible
quadricsinatwodimensionalprojectivespace(thatis,havingthreevariables)aretraditionallycalledconics.
TheEuclideanplaneR2isembeddedintherealprojectiveplanebyadjoiningalineatinfinity(anditscorrespondingpointsatinfinity)sothat
allthelinesofaparallelclassmeetonthisline.Ontheotherhand,startingwiththerealprojectiveplane,aEuclideanplaneisobtainedby
distinguishingsomelineasthelineatinfinityandremovingitandallitspoints.

Intersectionatinfinity
Wecanclassifytheconicsections,astheyappearintheEuclideanplane,byhowtheyintersectthelineatinfinity.
ellipsesintersectthelineatinfinityin0points
parabolasintersectthelineatinfinityin1doublepoint,correspondingtotheaxisthatis,theyaretangenttothelineatinfinity,and
closeatapointatinfinityforminganellipse
hyperbolasintersectthelineatinfinityin2points,correspondingtotheasymptoteshyperbolaspassthroughinfinity,withatwist.
Goingtoinfinityalongonebranchpassesthroughthepointatinfinitycorrespondingtotheasymptote,thenreemergesontheother
branchattheothersidebutwiththeinsideofthehyperbola(thedirectionofcurvature)ontheothersideleftvs.right(corresponding
tothenonorientabilityoftherealprojectiveplane)andthenpassingthroughtheotherpointatinfinityreturnstothefirstbranch.
Hyperbolascanthusbeseenasellipsesthathavebeenpulledthroughinfinityandreemergedontheotherside,flipped.
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Inprojectivespace,overanydivisionring,butinparticularovereithertherealorcomplexnumbers,allnondegenerateconicsareequivalent,
andthusinprojectivegeometryonesimplyspeaksof"aconic"withoutspecifyingatype,astypeisnotmeaningfulinthiscontext.
Geometrically,thelineatinfinityisnotspecial,sowhilesomeconicsintersectthelineatinfinitydifferently,thiscanbechangedbya
projectivetransformationpullinganellipseouttoinfinityorpushingaparabolaoffinfinitytoanellipseorahyperbola.

Homogeneouscoordinates
Inhomogeneouscoordinatesaconicsectioncanberepresentedas:

Orinmatrixnotation

The33matrixaboveiscalledthematrixoftheconicsection.
Someauthorsprefertowritethegeneralhomogeneousequationas

(orsomevariationofthis)sothatthematrixoftheconicsectionhasthesimplerform,

butweshallnotusethisnotation.[37]
Ifthedeterminantofthematrixoftheconicsectioniszero,theconicsectionisdegenerate.
Asmultiplyingallsixcoefficientsbythesamenonzeroscalaryieldsanequationwiththesamesetofzeros,onecanconsiderconics,
representedby(A,B,C,D,E,F)aspointsinthefivedimensionalprojectivespace

Projectivedefinitionofacircle
MetricalconceptsofEuclideangeometry(conceptsconcernedwithmeasuringlengthsandangles)cannotbeimmediatelyextendedtothereal
projectiveplane.[38]Theymustberedefined(andgeneralized)inthisnewgeometry.Thiscanbedoneforarbitraryprojectiveplanes,butto
obtaintherealprojectiveplaneastheextendedEuclideanplane,somespecificchoiceshavetobemade.[39]
Fixanarbitrarylineinaprojectiveplanethatshallbereferredtoastheabsoluteline.Selecttwodistinctpointsontheabsolutelineandrefer
tothemasabsolutepoints.Severalmetricalconceptscanbedefinedwithreferencetothesechoices.Forinstance,givenalinecontainingthe
pointsAandB,themidpointoflinesegmentABisdefinedasthepointCwhichistheprojectiveharmonicconjugateofthepointof
intersectionofABandtheabsoluteline,withrespecttoAandB.
Aconicinaprojectiveplanethatcontainsthetwoabsolutepointsiscalledacircle.Sincefivepointsdetermineaconic,acircle(whichmaybe
degenerate)isdeterminedbythreepoints.ToobtaintheextendedEuclideanplane,theabsolutelineischosentobethelineatinfinityofthe
Euclideanplaneandtheabsolutepointsaretwospecialpointsonthatlinecalledthecircularpointsatinfinity.Linescontainingtwopoints
withrealcoordinatesdonotpassthroughthecircularpointsatinfinity,sointheEuclideanplaneacircle,underthisdefinition,isdetermined
bythreepointsthatarenotcollinear.[40]
IthasbeenmentionedthatcirclesintheEuclideanplanecannotbedefinedbythefocusdirectrixproperty.However,ifoneweretoconsider
thelineatinfinityasthedirectrix,thenbytakingtheeccentricitytobee=0acirclewillhavethefocusdirectrixproperty,butitisstillnot
definedbythatproperty.[41]Onemustbecarefulinthissituationtocorrectlyusethedefinitionofeccentricityastheratioofthedistanceofa
pointonthecircletothefocus(lengthofaradius)tothedistanceofthatpointtothedirectrix(thisdistanceisinfinite)whichgivesthelimiting
valueofzero.

Steiner'sprojectiveconicdefinition
Asynthetic(withouttheuseofcoordinates)approachtodefiningtheconicsectionsinaprojectiveplanewasgivenbyJacobSteinerin1867.
Giventwopencils
mapping of
onto
section.[42][43][44][45]

oflinesattwopoints
(alllinescontaining and resp.)andaprojectivebutnotperspective
.Thentheintersectionpointsofcorrespondinglinesformanondegenerateprojectiveconic

Aperspectivemapping ofapencil
ontoapencil
afixedline ,whichiscalledtheaxisoftheperspectivity .

isabijection(11correspondence)suchthatcorrespondinglinesintersecton

Aprojectivemappingisafinitesequenceofperspectivemappings.
Asaprojectivemappinginaprojectiveplaneoverafield(pappianplane)isuniquelydeterminedbyprescribingtheimagesofthreelines,[46]
fortheSteinergenerationofaconicsection,besidestwopoints
onlytheimagesof3lineshavetobegiven.These5items(2points,3
lines)uniquelydeterminetheconicsection.
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Lineconics
BythePrincipleofDualityinaprojectiveplane,thedualofeachpointisaline,andthedualofalocus
ofpoints(asetofpointssatisfyingsomecondition)iscalledanenvelopeoflines.UsingSteiner's
definitionofaconic(thislocusofpointswillnowbereferredtoasapointconic)asthemeetof
correspondingraysoftworelatedpencils,itiseasytodualizeandobtainthecorrespondingenvelope
consistingofthejoinsofcorrespondingpointsoftworelatedranges(pointsonaline)ondifferent
bases(thelinesthepointsareon).Suchanenvelopeiscalledalineconic(ordualconic).
Intherealprojectiveplane,apointconichasthepropertythateverylinemeetsitintwopoints(which
maycoincide,ormaybecomplex)andanysetofpointswiththispropertyisapointconic.Itfollows
duallythatalineconichastwoofitslinesthrougheverypointandanyenvelopeoflineswiththis
propertyisalineconic.Ateverypointofapointconicthereisauniquetangentline,anddually,on
everylineofalineconicthereisauniquepointcalledapointofcontact.Animportanttheoremstates
thatthetangentlinesofapointconicformalineconic,anddually,thepointsofcontactofalineconic
formapointconic.[47]

DefinitionoftheSteinergeneration
ofaconicsection

VonStaudt'sdefinition
KarlGeorgChristianvonStaudtdefinedaconicasthepointsetgivenbyalltheabsolutepointsofapolaritythathasabsolutepoints.Von
StaudtintroducedthisdefinitioninGeometriederLage(1847)aspartofhisattempttoremoveallmetricalconceptsfromprojectivegeometry.
Apolarity,,ofaprojectiveplane,P,isaninvolutory(i.e.,ofordertwo)bijectionbetweenthepointsandthelinesofPthatpreservesthe
incidencerelation.Thus,apolarityrelatesapointQwithalineqand,followingGergonne,qiscalledthepolarofQandQthepoleofq.[48]
Anabsolutepoint(line)ofapolarityisonewhichisincidentwithitspolar(pole).[49]
AvonStaudtconicintherealprojectiveplaneisequivalenttoaSteinerconic.[50]

Construction
Therearemanymethodstoconstructaconic.Oneofthem,basedonSteiner'sconstructionandwhichisusefulinengineeringapplications,is
theparallelogrammethod,whereaconicisconstructedpointbypointbymeansofconnectingcertainequallyspacedpointsonahorizontal
lineandaverticalline(seeEllipse,Hyperbola).

Inthecomplexprojectiveplane
Furtherunificationispossibleifoneallowscomplexnumbersascoefficients.Inthecomplexprojectiveplanethenondegenerateconicscan
notbedistinguishedfromoneanother.
Overthecomplexnumbersellipsesandhyperbolasarenotdistinct,since1isasquareprecisely,theellipse
becomesa
hyperbolaunderthesubstitution
geometricallyacomplexrotation,yielding
ahyperbolaissimplyanellipsewith
animaginaryaxislength.Thusthereisa2wayclassification:ellipse/hyperbolaandparabola.Geometrically,thiscorrespondstointersecting
thelineatinfinityineither2distinctpoints(correspondingtotwoasymptotes)orin1doublepoint(correspondingtotheaxisofaparabola),
andthustherealhyperbolaisamoresuggestiveimageforthecomplexellipse/hyperbola,asitalsohas2(real)intersectionswiththelineat
infinity.
ItcanbeproventhatinthecomplexprojectiveplaneCP2twoconicsectionshavefourpointsincommon(ifoneaccountsformultiplicity),so
therearenevermorethan4intersectionpointsandthereisalwaysoneintersectionpoint(possibilities:fourdistinctintersectionpoints,two
singularintersectionpointsandonedoubleintersectionpoints,twodoubleintersectionpoints,onesingularintersectionpointand1with
multiplicity3,1intersectionpointwithmultiplicity4).Ifthereexistsatleastoneintersectionpointwithmultiplicity>1,thenthetwoconic
sectionsaresaidtobetangent.Ifthereisonlyoneintersectionpoint,whichhasmultiplicity4,thetwoconicsectionsaresaidtobe
osculating.[51]
Furthermore,eachstraightlineintersectseachconicsectiontwice.Iftheintersectionpointisdouble,thelineissaidtobetangentanditis
calledthetangentline.Becauseeverystraightlineintersectsaconicsectiontwice,eachconicsectionhastwopointsatinfinity(the
intersectionpointswiththelineatinfinity).Ifthesepointsarereal,theconicsectionmustbeahyperbola,iftheyareimaginaryconjugated,the
conicsectionmustbeanellipse,iftheconicsectionhasonedoublepointatinfinityitisaparabola.Ifthepointsatinfinityare(1,i,0)and(1,
i,0),theconicsectionisacircle(seecircularpointsatinfinity).Ifaconicsectionhasonerealandoneimaginarypointatinfinityorithastwo
imaginarypointsthatarenotconjugatedthenitnotarealconicsection(itscoefficientsarecomplex).

Degeneratecases
Whatshouldbeconsideredasadegeneratecaseofaconicdependsonthedefinitionbeingusedandthegeometricsettingfortheconic
section.Therearesomeauthorswhodefineaconicasatwodimensionalnondegeneratequadric.Withthisterminologythereareno
degenerateconics(onlydegeneratequadrics),butweshallusethemoretraditionalterminologyandavoidthatdefinition.
IntheEuclideanplane,usingthegeometricdefinition,adegeneratecaseariseswhenthecuttingplanepassesthroughtheapexofthecone.The
degenerateconiciseither:apoint,whentheplaneintersectstheconeonlyattheapexastraightline,whentheplaneistangenttothecone(it
containsexactlyonegeneratorofthecone)orapairofintersectinglines(twogeneratorsofthecone).[52]Thesecorrespondrespectivelytothe
limitingformsofanellipse,parabola,andahyperbola.
IfaconicintheEuclideanplaneisbeingdefinedbythezerosofaquadraticequation(thatis,asaquadric),thenthedegenerateconicsare:the
emptyset,apoint,orapairoflineswhichmaybeparallel,intersectatapoint,orcoincide.Thetwolinescaseoccurswhenthequadratic
expressionfactorsintotwolinearfactors,thezerosofeachgivingaline.Inthecasethatthefactorsarethesame,thecorrespondinglines
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coincideandwerefertothelineasadoubleline(alinewithmultiplicity2)andthisisthepreviouscaseofatangentcuttingplane.
Intherealprojectiveplane,sinceparallellinesmeetatapointonthelineatinfinity,theparallellinecaseoftheEuclideanplanecanbeviewed
asintersectinglines.However,asthepointofintersectionistheapexofthecone,theconeitselfdegeneratestoacylinder,i.e.withtheapexat
infinity.Othersectionsinthiscasearecalledcylindricsections.[53]Thenondegeneratecylindricalsectionsareellipses(orcircles).
Whenviewedfromtheperspectiveofthecomplexprojectiveplane,thedegeneratecasesofarealquadric(i.e.,thequadraticequationhasreal
coefficients)canallbeconsideredasapairoflines,possiblycoinciding.Theemptysetmaybethelineatinfinityconsideredasadoubleline,
a(real)pointistheintersectionoftwocomplexconjugatelinesandtheothercasesaspreviouslymentioned.
Todistinguishthedegeneratecasesfromthenondegeneratecasesusingmatrixnotation,letbethedeterminantofthe33matrixofthe
B2
BEDCD2AE2
conicsection:thatis,=(AC )F+
andlet=B24ACbethediscriminant.Thentheconicsectionisnon
4
4
degenerateifandonlyif0.If=0wehaveapointwhen<0,twoparallellines(possiblycoincidingwitheachother)when=0,or
twointersectinglineswhen>0.[54]

Pencilofconics
A(nondegenerate)coniciscompletelydeterminedbyfivepointsingeneralposition(nothreecollinear)inaplaneandthesystemofconics
whichpassthroughafixedsetoffourpoints(againinaplaneandnothreecollinear)iscalledapencilofconics.[55]Thefourcommonpoints
arecalledthebasepointsofthepencil.Throughanypointotherthanabasepoint,therepassesasingleconicofthepencil.Thisconcept
generalizesapencilofcircles.
Inaprojectiveplanedefinedoveranalgebraicallyclosedfieldanytwoconicsmeetinfourpoints(countedwithmultiplicity)andso,
determinethepencilofconicsbasedonthesefourpoints.Furthermore,thefourbasepointsdeterminethreelinepairs(degenerateconics
throughthebasepoints,eachlineofthepaircontainingexactlytwobasepoints)andsoeachpencilofconicswillcontainatmostthree
degenerateconics.[56]
Apencilofconicscanrepresentedalgebraicallyinthefollowingway.LetC1andC2betwodistinctconicsinaprojectiveplanedefinedover
analgebraicallyclosedfieldK.Foreverypair,ofelementsofK,notbothzero,theexpression:

representsaconicinthepencildeterminedbyC1andC2.Thissymbolicrepresentationcanbemadeconcretewithaslightabuseofnotation
(usingthesamenotationtodenotetheobjectaswellastheequationdefiningtheobject.)ThinkingofC1,say,asaternaryquadraticform,
thenC1=0istheequationofthe"conicC1".AnotherconcreterealizationwouldbeobtainedbythinkingofC1asthe33symmetricmatrix
whichrepresentsit.IfC1andC2havesuchconcreterealizationstheneverymemberoftheabovepencilwillaswell.Sincethesettinguses
homogeneouscoordinatesinaprojectiveplane,twoconcreterepresentations(eitherequationsormatrices)givethesameconiciftheydiffer
byanonzeromultiplicativeconstant.

Intersectingtwoconics
Thesolutionstoasystemoftwoseconddegreeequationsintwovariablesmaybeviewedasthecoordinatesofthepointsofintersectionof
twogenericconicsections.Inparticulartwoconicsmaypossessnone,twoorfourpossiblycoincidentintersectionpoints.Anefficientmethod
oflocatingthesesolutionsexploitsthehomogeneousmatrixrepresentationofconicsections,i.e.a3x3symmetricmatrixwhichdependsonsix
parameters.
Theproceduretolocatetheintersectionpointsfollowsthesesteps,wheretheconicsarerepresentedbymatrices:
giventhetwoconics and ,considerthepencilofconicsgivenbytheirlinearcombination
identifythehomogeneousparameters
whichcorrespondtothedegenerateconicofthepencil.Thiscanbedonebyimposingthe
conditionthat
andsolvingfor and .Theseturnouttobethesolutionsofathirddegreeequation.
giventhedegenerateconic ,identifythetwo,possiblycoincident,linesconstitutingit.
intersecteachidentifiedlinewitheitheroneofthetwooriginalconicsthisstepcanbedoneefficientlyusingthedualconic
representationof
thepointsofintersectionwillrepresentthesolutionstotheinitialequationsystem.

Generalizations
Conicsmaybedefinedoverotherfields(thatis,inotherpappiangeometries),butsomecaremustbeusedwhenthefieldhascharacteristictwo
assomeformulaecannotbeused.Forexample,theusualmatrixrepresentationofaquadraticform.
Ageneralizationofanondegenerateconicinaprojectiveplaneisanoval.Anovalisapointsetthathasthefollowingproperties,whichare
heldbyconics:1)anylineintersectsanovalinnone,oneortwopoints,2)atanypointoftheovalthereexistsauniquetangentline.
Generalizingthefocuspropertiesofconicstothecasewheretherearemorethantwofociproducessetscalledgeneralizedconics.

Inotherareasofmathematics
Theclassificationintoelliptic,parabolic,andhyperbolicispervasiveinmathematics,andoftendividesafieldintosharplydistinctsubfields.
Theclassificationmostlyarisesduetothepresenceofaquadraticform(intwovariablesthiscorrespondstotheassociateddiscriminant),but
canalsocorrespondtoeccentricity.
Quadraticformclassifications:
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Quadraticforms
QuadraticformsovertherealsareclassifiedbySylvester'slawofinertia,namelybytheirpositiveindex,zeroindex,andnegativeindex:
aquadraticforminnvariablescanbeconvertedtoadiagonalform,as
wherethe
numberof+1coefficients,k,isthepositiveindex,thenumberof1coefficients,l,isthenegativeindex,andtheremainingvariablesare
thezeroindexm,so
Intwovariablesthenonzeroquadraticformsareclassifiedas:
positivedefinite(thenegativeisalsoincluded),correspondingtoellipses,
degenerate,correspondingtoparabolas,and
indefinite,correspondingtohyperbolas.
Intwovariablesquadraticformsareclassifiedbydiscriminant,analogouslytoconics,butinhigherdimensionsthemoreuseful
classificationisasdefinite,(allpositiveorallnegative),degenerate,(somezeros),orindefinite(mixofpositiveandnegativebutno
zeros).Thisclassificationunderliesmanythatfollow.
Curvature
TheGaussiancurvatureofasurfacedescribestheinfinitesimalgeometry,andmayateachpointbeeitherpositiveellipticgeometry,
zeroEuclideangeometry(flat,parabola),ornegativehyperbolicgeometryinfinitesimally,tosecondorderthesurfacelookslikethe
graphof
(or0),or
.Indeed,bytheuniformizationtheoremeverysurfacecanbetakentobeglobally(atevery
point)positivelycurved,flat,ornegativelycurved.InhigherdimensionstheRiemanncurvaturetensorisamorecomplicatedobject,but
manifoldswithconstantsectionalcurvatureareinterestingobjectsofstudy,andhavestrikinglydifferentproperties,asdiscussedat
sectionalcurvature.
SecondorderPDEs
Partialdifferentialequations(PDEs)ofsecondorderareclassifiedateachpointaselliptic,parabolic,orhyperbolic,accordinglyastheir
secondordertermscorrespondtoanelliptic,parabolic,orhyperbolicquadraticform.Thebehaviorandtheoryofthesedifferenttypesof
PDEsarestrikinglydifferentrepresentativeexamplesisthatthePoissonequationiselliptic,theheatequationisparabolic,andthe
waveequationishyperbolic.
Eccentricityclassificationsinclude:
Mbiustransformations
RealMbiustransformations(elementsofPSL2(R)orits2foldcover,SL2(R))areclassifiedaselliptic,parabolic,orhyperbolic
accordinglyastheirhalftraceis

or
mirroringtheclassificationbyeccentricity.
Variancetomeanratio
Thevariancetomeanratioclassifiesseveralimportantfamiliesofdiscreteprobabilitydistributions:theconstantdistributionascircular
(eccentricity0),binomialdistributionsaselliptical,Poissondistributionsasparabolic,andnegativebinomialdistributionsashyperbolic.
Thisiselaboratedatcumulantsofsomediscreteprobabilitydistributions.

Seealso
Circumconicandinconic
ConicSectionsRebellion,protestsbyYaleuniversitystudents
Directorcircle
Ellipticcoordinatesystem
Equidistantset
Ninepointconic
Paraboliccoordinates
Quadraticfunction

Notes
1.Eves1963,p.319
2.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.13
3.Wilson&Tracey1925,pp.111124
4.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,pp.1316
5.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.19Kendig2005,pp.86,141
6.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,pp.1116
7.Protter&Morrey1970,pp.314328,585589
8.Protter&Morrey1970,pp.290314
9.Wilson&Tracey1925,p.130
10.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.17
11.theemptysetisincludedasadegenerateconicsinceitmayariseasasolutionofthisequation
12.Protter&Morrey1970,p.316
13.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.30
14.Protter&Morrey1970,p.326
15.Pettofrezzo,Anthony,MatricesandTransformations,DoverPubl.,1966,pp.101111.
16.Fanchi,JohnR.(2006),Mathrefresherforscientistsandengineers,JohnWileyandSons,pp.4445,ISBN0471757152,Section3.2,page45
(http://books.google.com/books?id=75mAJPcAWT8C&pg=PA45)
17.Wilson&Tracey1925,p.153
18.Ayoub,AyoubB.,"Theeccentricityofaconicsection,"TheCollegeMathematicsJournal34(2),March2003,116121.
19.Whitworth,WilliamAllen.TrilinearCoordinatesandOtherMethodsofModernAnalyticalGeometryofTwoDimensions,ForgottenBooks,2012(orig.
Deighton,Bell,andCo.,1866),p.203http://www.forgottenbooks.com/search?q=Trilinear+coordinates&t=books
20.ParisPamfilos,"Agalleryofconicsbyfiveelements",ForumGeometricorum14,2014,295348.
http://forumgeom.fau.edu/FG2014volume14/FG201431.pdf
21.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.28
22.ThissolutionwasrejectedbyPlatoonthegroundsthatitcouldnotbeachievedusingonlystraightedgeandcompass.
23.Boyer2004,pp.1718
24.Boyer2004,p.18
25.Katz1998,p.117
26.Heath,T.L.,TheThirteenBooksofEuclid'sElements,Vol.I,Dover,1956,pg.16
27.Eves1963,p.28
28.Eves1963,p.30
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29.Boyer2004,p.36
30.Stillwell,John(2010).Mathematicsanditshistory(3rded.).NewYork:Springer.p.30.ISBN144196052X.
31."ApolloniusofPergaConicsBooksOnetoSeven"(PDF).Retrieved10June2011.
32.Turner,HowardR.(1997).ScienceinmedievalIslam:anillustratedintroduction.UniversityofTexasPress.p.53.ISBN0292781490.,Chapter,p.
53(http://books.google.com/books?id=3VfY8PgmhDMC&pg=PA53)
33.Katz1998,p.126
34.Boyer2004,p.110
35.Boyer2004,p.114
36.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.27
37.Thisformoftheequationdoesnotgeneralizetofieldsofcharacteristictwo(seebelow)
38.Considerfindingthemidpointofalinesegmentwithoneendpointonthelineatinfinity.
39.Faulkner1952,p.71
40.Faulkner1952,p.72
41.Eves1963,p.320
42.Coxeter1993,p.80
43.Hartmann,p.38
44.Merserve1983,p.65
45.JacobSteinersVorlesungenbersynthetischeGeometrie,B.G.Teubner,Leipzig1867(fromGoogleBooks:(German)PartIIfollowsPartI
(http://books.google.de/books?id=jCgPAAAAQAAJ))PartII,pg.96
46.Hartmann,p.19
47.Faulkner1952,pp.4849
48.Coxeter1964,p.60
49.Coxeterandseveralotherauthorsusethetermselfconjugateinsteadofabsolute.
50.Coxeter1964,p.80
51.Wilczynski,E.J.(1916),"Someremarksonthehistoricaldevelopmentandthefutureprospectsofthedifferentialgeometryofplanecurves",Bull.
Amer.Math.Soc.22:317329,doi:10.1090/s000299041916027856.
52.Brannan,Esplen&Gray1999,p.6
53."MathWorld:Cylindricsection".
54.Lawrence,J.Dennis(1972),ACatalogofSpecialPlaneCurves,Dover,p.63,ISBN0486602885
55.Faulkner1952,pg.64
56.Samuel1988,pg.50

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Coxeter,H.S.M.(1964),ProjectiveGeometry,Blaisdell
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