Conic section

A conic section, conic or a quadratic curve is a curve obtained from a cone's surface
intersecting a plane. The three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola,
and the ellipse; the circle is a special case of the ellipse, though it was sometimes
called as a fourth type. The ancient Greek mathematicians studied conic sections,
culminating around 200 BC with Apollonius of Perga's systematic work on their
properties.

The black boundaries of the colored regions

are conic sections. Not shown is the other
half of the hyperbola, which is on the
unshown other half of the double cone.
 Conic sections visualized with torch
light

This diagram clarifies the different

angles of the cutting planes that
result in the different properties of the
three types of conic section.

The conic sections in the Euclidean plane have various distinguishing properties,
many of which can be used as alternative definitions. One such property defines a
non-circular conic[1] to be the set of those points whose distances to some particular
point, called a focus, and some particular line, called a directrix, are in a fixed ratio,
called the eccentricity. The type of conic is determined by the value of the eccentricity.
In analytic geometry, a conic may be defined as a plane algebraic curve of degree 2;
that is, as the set of points whose coordinates satisfy a quadratic equation in two
variables which can be written in the form
 The geometric properties of the conic
can be deduced from its equation.

In the Euclidean plane, the three types of conic sections appear quite different, but
share many properties. By extending the Euclidean plane to include a line at infinity,
obtaining a projective plane, the apparent difference vanishes: the branches of a
hyperbola meet in two points at infinity, making it a single closed curve; and the two
ends of a parabola meet to make it a closed curve tangent to the line at infinity.
Further extension, by expanding the real coordinates to admit complex coordinates,
provides the means to see this unification algebraically.

Euclidean geometry

Types of conic sections:

1: Circle 2: Ellipse
3: Parabola 4: Hyperbola

The conic sections have been studied for thousands of years and have provided a rich
source of interesting and beautiful results in Euclidean geometry.
Definition
A conic is the curve obtained as the intersection of a plane, called the cutting plane,
with the surface of a double cone (a cone with two nappes). It is usually assumed that
the cone is a right circular cone for the purpose of easy description, but this is not
required; any double cone with some circular cross-section will suffice. Planes that
pass through the vertex of the cone will intersect the cone in a point, a line or a pair of
intersecting lines. These are called degenerate conics and some authors do not
consider them to be conics at all. Unless otherwise stated, "conic" in this article will
refer to a non-degenerate conic.

There are three types of conics: the ellipse, parabola, and hyperbola. The circle is a
special kind of ellipse, although historically Apollonius considered it a fourth type.
Ellipses arise when the intersection of the cone and plane is a closed curve. The circle
is obtained when the cutting plane is parallel to the plane of the generating circle of
the cone; for a right cone, this means the cutting plane is perpendicular to the axis. If
the cutting plane is parallel to exactly one generating line of the cone, then the conic
is unbounded and is called a parabola. In the remaining case, the figure is a hyperbola:
the plane intersects both halves of the cone, producing two separate unbounded
curves.

Compare also spheric section (intersection of a plane with a sphere, producing a

circle or point), and spherical conic (intersection of an elliptic cone with a concentric
sphere).
Eccentricity, focus and directrix

Conic sections of varying eccentricity sharing a

focus point and directrix line, including an ellipse
(red, e = 1/2), a parabola (green, e = 1), and a
hyperbola (blue, e = 2). The conic of eccentricity
0 in this figure is an infinitesimal circle centered
at the focus, and the conic of eccentricity ∞ is
an infinitesimally separated pair of lines.
A circle of finite radius has an infinitely distant
directrix, while a pair of lines of finite separation
have an infinitely distant focus.

Alternatively, one can define a conic section purely in terms of plane geometry: it is
the locus of all points P whose distance to a fixed point F (called the focus) is a
constant multiple e (called the eccentricity) of the distance from P to a fixed line L
(called the directrix). For 0 < e < 1 we obtain an ellipse, for e = 1 a parabola, and for
e > 1 a hyperbola.

A circle is a limiting case and is not defined by a focus and directrix in the Euclidean
plane. The eccentricity of a circle is defined to be zero and its focus is the center of
the circle, but its directrix can only be taken as the line at infinity in the projective
plane.[2]

The eccentricity of an ellipse can be seen as a measure of how far the ellipse
deviates from being circular.[3]
If the angle between the surface of the cone and its axis is and the angle between
[4]
the cutting plane and the axis is the eccentricity is

A proof that the above curves defined by the focus-directrix property are the same as
those obtained by planes intersecting a cone is facilitated by the use of Dandelin
spheres.[5]

Alternatively, an ellipse can be defined in terms of two focus points, as the locus of
points for which the sum of the distances to the two foci is 2a; while a hyperbola is
the locus for which the difference of distances is 2a. (Here a is the semi-major axis
defined below.) A parabola may also be defined in terms of its focus and latus rectum
line (parallel to the directrix and passing through the focus): it is the locus of points
whose distance to the focus plus or minus the distance to the line is equal to 2a; plus
if the point is between the directrix and the latus rectum, minus otherwise.

Conic parameters

Conic parameters in the case of an ellipse

In addition to the eccentricity (e), foci, and directrix, various geometric features and
lengths are associated with a conic section.

The principal axis is the line joining the foci of an ellipse or hyperbola, and its midpoint
is the curve's center. A parabola has no center.

The linear eccentricity (c) is the distance between the center and a focus.
The latus rectum is the chord parallel to the directrix and passing through a focus; its
half-length is the semi-latus rectum (ℓ).

The focal parameter (p) is the distance from a focus to the corresponding directrix.

The major axis is the chord between the two vertices: the longest chord of an ellipse,
the shortest chord between the branches of a hyperbola. Its half-length is the semi-
major axis (a). When an ellipse or hyperbola are in standard position as in the
equations below, with foci on the x-axis and center at the origin, the vertices of the
conic have coordinates (−a, 0) and (a, 0), with a non-negative.

The minor axis is the shortest diameter of an ellipse, and its half-length is the semi-
minor axis (b), the same value b as in the standard equation below. By analogy, for a
hyperbola the parameter b in the standard equation is also called the semi-minor axis.

The following relations hold:[6]

For conics in standard position, these parameters have the following values, taking
.

conic eccentricity linear semi-latus focal

equation
section ( e) eccentricity (c) rectum (ℓ) parameter (p)

circle

ellipse

parabola N/A

hyperbola
Standard forms in Cartesian
coordinates

Standard forms of an ellipse

Standard forms of a parabola

Standard forms of a hyperbola

After introducing Cartesian coordinates, the focus-directrix property can be used to
produce the equations satisfied by the points of the conic section.[7] By means of a
change of coordinates (rotation and translation of axes) these equations can be put
into standard forms.[8] For ellipses and hyperbolas a standard form has the x-axis as
principal axis and the origin (0,0) as center. The vertices are (±a, 0) and the foci
(±c, 0). Define b by the equations c2 = a2 − b2 for an ellipse and c2 = a2 + b2 for a
hyperbola. For a circle, c = 0 so a2 = b2, with radius r = a = b. For the parabola, the
standard form has the focus on the x-axis at the point (a, 0) and the directrix the line
with equation x = −a. In standard form the parabola will always pass through the
origin.

For a rectangular or equilateral hyperbola, one whose asymptotes are perpendicular,

there is an alternative standard form in which the asymptotes are the coordinate axes
and the line x = y is the principal axis. The foci then have coordinates (c, c) and
(−c, −c).[9]

Circle:

Ellipse:

Parabola:

Hyperbola:
 Rectangular hyperbola:[10]

The first four of these forms are symmetric about both the x-axis and y-axis (for the
circle, ellipse and hyperbola), or about the x-axis only (for the parabola). The
rectangular hyperbola, however, is instead symmetric about the lines y = x and y = −x.

These standard forms can be written parametrically as,

Circle:

Ellipse:

Parabola:

Hyperbola:
 ,
Rectangular hyperbola:

General Cartesian form

In the Cartesian coordinate system, the graph of a quadratic equation in two variables
is always a conic section (though it may be degenerate),[a] and all conic sections arise
in this way. The most general equation is of the form[11]

with all coefficients real numbers and A, B, C not all zero.

Matrix notation
The above equation can be written in matrix notation as[12]

The general equation can also be written as

This form is a specialization of the homogeneous form used in the more general
setting of projective geometry (see below).

Discriminant
The conic sections described by this equation can be classified in terms of the value
, called the discriminant of the equation.[13] Thus, the discriminant is − 4Δ

where Δ is the matrix determinant

If the conic is non-degenerate, then:[14]

if B2 − 4AC < 0, the equation

represents an ellipse;
if A = C and B = 0, the equation
represents a circle, which is a
special case of an ellipse;
if B2 − 4AC = 0, the equation
represents a parabola;
if B2 − 4AC > 0, the equation
represents a hyperbola;
 if A + C = 0, the equation
represents a rectangular
hyperbola.
In the notation used here, A and B are polynomial coefficients, in contrast to some
sources that denote the semimajor and semiminor axes as A and B.

Invariants
The discriminant B2 – 4AC of the conic section's quadratic equation (or equivalently
the determinant AC – B2/4 of the 2 × 2 matrix) and the quantity A + C (the trace of the
2 × 2 matrix) are invariant under arbitrary rotations and translations of the coordinate
axes,[14][15][16] as is the determinant of the 3 × 3 matrix above.[17]: pp. 60–62 The
constant term F and the sum D2 + E2 are invariant under rotation only.[17]: pp. 60–62

Eccentricity in terms of coefficients

When the conic section is written algebraically as

the eccentricity can be written as a function of the coefficients of the quadratic

equation.[18] If 4AC = B2 the conic is a parabola and its eccentricity equals 1 (provided
it is non-degenerate). Otherwise, assuming the equation represents either a non-
degenerate hyperbola or ellipse, the eccentricity is given by
where η = 1 if the determinant of the 3 × 3 matrix above is negative and η = −1 if that
determinant is positive.

It can also be shown[17]: p. 89 that the eccentricity is a positive solution of the equation

where again This has precisely one positive solution—the

eccentricity— in the case of a parabola or ellipse, while in the case of a hyperbola it

has two positive solutions, one of which is the eccentricity.

Conversion to canonical form

In the case of an ellipse or hyperbola, the equation

can be converted to canonical form in transformed variables as[19]

or equivalently
where and are the eigenvalues of the matrix — that is, the

solutions of the equation

— and is the determinant of the 3 × 3 matrix above, and is again the

determinant of the 2 × 2 matrix. In the case of an ellipse the squares of the two semi-
axes are given by the denominators in the canonical form.

Polar coordinates

Development of the conic section as the

eccentricity e increases

In polar coordinates, a conic section with one focus at the origin and, if any, the other
at a negative value (for an ellipse) or a positive value (for a hyperbola) on the x-axis, is
given by the equation

where e is the eccentricity and l is the semi-latus rectum.

As above, for e = 0, the graph is a circle, for 0 < e < 1 the graph is an ellipse, for e = 1 a
parabola, and for e > 1 a hyperbola.

The polar form of the equation of a conic is often used in dynamics; for instance,
determining the orbits of objects revolving about the Sun.[20]

Properties
Just as two (distinct) points determine a line, five points determine a conic. Formally,
given any five points in the plane in general linear position, meaning no three collinear,
there is a unique conic passing through them, which will be non-degenerate; this is
true in both the Euclidean plane and its extension, the real projective plane. Indeed,
given any five points there is a conic passing through them, but if three of the points
are collinear the conic will be degenerate (reducible, because it contains a line), and
may not be unique; see further discussion.

Four points in the plane in general linear position determine a unique conic passing
through the first three points and having the fourth point as its center. Thus knowing
the center is equivalent to knowing two points on the conic for the purpose of
determining the curve.[21]

Furthermore, a conic is determined by any combination of k points in general position

that it passes through and 5 – k lines that are tangent to it, for 0≤k≤5.[22]

Any point in the plane is on either zero, one or two tangent lines of a conic. A point on
just one tangent line is on the conic. A point on no tangent line is said to be an interior
point (or inner point) of the conic, while a point on two tangent lines is an exterior
point (or outer point).

All the conic sections share a reflection property that can be stated as: All mirrors in
the shape of a non-degenerate conic section reflect light coming from or going
toward one focus toward or away from the other focus. In the case of the parabola,
the second focus needs to be thought of as infinitely far away, so that the light rays
going toward or coming from the second focus are parallel.[23][24]

Pascal's theorem concerns the collinearity of three points that are constructed from a
set of six points on any non-degenerate conic. The theorem also holds for degenerate
conics consisting of two lines, but in that case it is known as Pappus's theorem.

Non-degenerate conic sections are always "smooth". This is important for many
applications, such as aerodynamics, where a smooth surface is required to ensure
laminar flow and to prevent turbulence.

History

Menaechmus and early works

It is believed that the first definition of a conic section was given by Menaechmus
(died 320 BC) as part of his solution of the Delian problem (Duplicating the
cube).[b][25] His work did not survive, not even the names he used for these curves,
and is only known through secondary accounts.[26] The definition used at that time
differs from the one commonly used today. Cones were constructed by rotating a
right triangle about one of its legs so the hypotenuse generates the surface of the
cone (such a line is called a generatrix). Three types of cones were determined by
their vertex angles (measured by twice the angle formed by the hypotenuse and the
leg being rotated about in the right triangle). The conic section was then determined
by intersecting one of these cones with a plane drawn perpendicular to a generatrix.
The type of the conic is determined by the type of cone, that is, by the angle formed at
the vertex of the cone: If the angle is acute then the conic is an ellipse; if the angle is
right then the conic is a parabola; and if the angle is obtuse then the conic is a
hyperbola (but only one branch of the curve).[27]

Euclid (fl. 300 BC) is said to have written four books on conics but these were lost as
well.[28] Archimedes (died c. 212 BC) is known to have studied conics, having
determined the area bounded by a parabola and a chord in Quadrature of the Parabola.
His main interest was in terms of measuring areas and volumes of figures related to
the conics and part of this work survives in his book on the solids of revolution of
conics, On Conoids and Spheroids.[29]

Apollonius of Perga

Diagram from Apollonius' Conics, in a 9th-

century Arabic translation

The greatest progress in the study of conics by the ancient Greeks is due to
Apollonius of Perga (died c. 190 BC), whose eight-volume Conic Sections or Conics
summarized and greatly extended existing knowledge.[30] Apollonius's study of the
properties of these curves made it possible to show that any plane cutting a fixed
double cone (two napped), regardless of its angle, will produce a conic according to
the earlier definition, leading to the definition commonly used today. Circles, not
constructible by the earlier method, are also obtainable in this way. This may account
for why Apollonius considered circles a fourth type of conic section, a distinction that
is no longer made. Apollonius used the names 'ellipse', 'parabola' and 'hyperbola' for
these curves, borrowing the terminology from earlier Pythagorean work on areas.[31]
Pappus of Alexandria (died c. 350 AD) is credited with expounding on the importance
of the concept of a conic's focus, and detailing the related concept of a directrix,
including the case of the parabola (which is lacking in Apollonius's known works).[32]

Islamic world
Apollonius's work was translated into Arabic, and much of his work only survives
through the Arabic version. Islamic mathematicians found applications of the theory,
most notably the Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyám,[33] who found a
geometrical method of solving cubic equations using conic sections.[34][35]

A century before the more famous work of Khayyam, Abu al-Jud used conics to solve
quartic and cubic equations,[36] although his solution did not deal with all the
cases.[37]

An instrument for drawing conic sections was first described in 1000 AD by Al-
Kuhi.[38][39]
Europe

Table of conics, Cyclopaedia, 1728

Johannes Kepler extended the theory of conics through the "principle of continuity", a
precursor to the concept of limits. Kepler first used the term 'foci' in 1604.[40]

Girard Desargues and Blaise Pascal developed a theory of conics using an early form
of projective geometry and this helped to provide impetus for the study of this new
field. In particular, Pascal discovered a theorem known as the hexagrammum
mysticum from which many other properties of conics can be deduced.

René Descartes and Pierre Fermat both applied their newly discovered analytic
geometry to the study of conics. This had the effect of reducing the geometrical
problems of conics to problems in algebra. However, it was John Wallis in his 1655
treatise Tractatus de sectionibus conicis who first defined the conic sections as
instances of equations of second degree.[41] Written earlier, but published later, Jan
de Witt's Elementa Curvarum Linearum starts with Kepler's kinematic construction of
the conics and then develops the algebraic equations. This work, which uses Fermat's
methodology and Descartes' notation has been described as the first textbook on the
subject.[42] De Witt invented the term 'directrix'.[42]
Applications

The paraboloid shape of

Archeocyathids produces conic
sections on rock faces

Conic sections are important in astronomy: the orbits of two massive objects that
interact according to Newton's law of universal gravitation are conic sections if their
common center of mass is considered to be at rest. If they are bound together, they
will both trace out ellipses; if they are moving apart, they will both follow parabolas or
hyperbolas. See two-body problem.

The reflective properties of the conic sections are used in the design of searchlights,
radio-telescopes and some optical telescopes.[43] A searchlight uses a parabolic
mirror as the reflector, with a bulb at the focus; and a similar construction is used for
a parabolic microphone. The 4.2 meter Herschel optical telescope on La Palma, in the
Canary islands, uses a primary parabolic mirror to reflect light towards a secondary
hyperbolic mirror, which reflects it again to a focus behind the first mirror.

In the real projective

plane
The conic sections have some very similar properties in the Euclidean plane and the
reasons for this become clearer when the conics are viewed from the perspective of a
larger geometry. The Euclidean plane may be embedded in the real projective plane
and the conics may be considered as objects in this projective geometry. One way to
do this is to introduce homogeneous coordinates and define a conic to be the set of
points whose coordinates satisfy an irreducible quadratic equation in three variables
(or equivalently, the zeros of an irreducible quadratic form). More technically, the set
of points that are zeros of a quadratic form (in any number of variables) is called a
quadric, and the irreducible quadrics in a two dimensional projective space (that is,
having three variables) are traditionally called conics.

The Euclidean plane R2 is embedded in the real projective plane by adjoining a line at
infinity (and its corresponding points at infinity) so that all the lines of a parallel class
meet on this line. On the other hand, starting with the real projective plane, a
Euclidean plane is obtained by distinguishing some line as the line at infinity and
removing it and all its points.

Intersection at infinity
In a projective space over any division ring, but in particular over either the real or
complex numbers, all non-degenerate conics are equivalent, and thus in projective
geometry one speaks of "a conic" without specifying a type. That is, there is a
projective transformation that will map any non-degenerate conic to any other non-
degenerate conic.[44]

The three types of conic sections will reappear in the affine plane obtained by
choosing a line of the projective space to be the line at infinity. The three types are
then determined by how this line at infinity intersects the conic in the projective
space. In the corresponding affine space, one obtains an ellipse if the conic does not
intersect the line at infinity, a parabola if the conic intersects the line at infinity in one
double point corresponding to the axis, and a hyperbola if the conic intersects the line
at infinity in two points corresponding to the asymptotes.[45]
Homogeneous coordinates
In homogeneous coordinates a conic section can be represented as:

Or in matrix notation

The 3 × 3 matrix above is called the matrix of the conic section.

Some authors prefer to write the general homogeneous equation as

(or some variation of this) so that the matrix of the conic section has the simpler
form,

but this notation is not used in this article.[c]

If the determinant of the matrix of the conic section is zero, the conic section is
degenerate.

As multiplying all six coefficients by the same non-zero scalar yields an equation with
the same set of zeros, one can consider conics, represented by (A, B, C, D, E, F) as
points in the five-dimensional projective space

Projective definition of a circle

Metrical concepts of Euclidean geometry (concepts concerned with measuring
lengths and angles) can not be immediately extended to the real projective plane.[d]
They must be redefined (and generalized) in this new geometry. This can be done for
arbitrary projective planes, but to obtain the real projective plane as the extended
Euclidean plane, some specific choices have to be made.[46]

Fix an arbitrary line in a projective plane that shall be referred to as the absolute line.
Select two distinct points on the absolute line and refer to them as absolute points.
Several metrical concepts can be defined with reference to these choices. For
instance, given a line containing the points A and B, the midpoint of line segment AB
is defined as the point C which is the projective harmonic conjugate of the point of
intersection of AB and the absolute line, with respect to A and B.

A conic in a projective plane that contains the two absolute points is called a circle.
Since five points determine a conic, a circle (which may be degenerate) is determined
by three points. To obtain the extended Euclidean plane, the absolute line is chosen to
be the line at infinity of the Euclidean plane and the absolute points are two special
points on that line called the circular points at infinity. Lines containing two points
with real coordinates do not pass through the circular points at infinity, so in the
Euclidean plane a circle, under this definition, is determined by three points that are
not collinear.[47]

It has been mentioned that circles in the Euclidean plane can not be defined by the
focus-directrix property. However, if one were to consider the line at infinity as the
directrix, then by taking the eccentricity to be e = 0 a circle will have the focus-directrix
property, but it is still not defined by that property.[48] One must be careful in this
situation to correctly use the definition of eccentricity as the ratio of the distance of a
point on the circle to the focus (length of a radius) to the distance of that point to the
directrix (this distance is infinite) which gives the limiting value of zero.

Steiner's projective conic

definition

Definition of the Steiner generation of

a conic section

A synthetic (coordinate-free) approach to defining the conic sections in a projective

plane was given by Jakob Steiner in 1867.

Given two pencils of

lines at two points (all lines
containing and resp.) and a
projective but not perspective
 mapping of onto .
Then the intersection points of
corresponding lines form a non-
degenerate projective conic
section.[49][50][51][52]
A perspective mapping of a pencil onto a pencil is a bijection (1-1
correspondence) such that corresponding lines intersect on a fixed line , which is
called the axis of the perspectivity .

A projective mapping is a finite sequence of perspective mappings.

As a projective mapping in a projective plane over a field (pappian plane) is uniquely

determined by prescribing the images of three lines,[53] for the Steiner generation of a
conic section, besides two points only the images of 3 lines have to be given.
These 5 items (2 points, 3 lines) uniquely determine the conic section.

Line conics
By the Principle of Duality in a projective plane, the dual of each point is a line, and the
dual of a locus of points (a set of points satisfying some condition) is called an
envelope of lines. Using Steiner's definition of a conic (this locus of points will now be
referred to as a point conic) as the meet of corresponding rays of two related pencils,
it is easy to dualize and obtain the corresponding envelope consisting of the joins of
corresponding points of two related ranges (points on a line) on different bases (the
lines the points are on). Such an envelope is called a line conic (or dual conic).

In the real projective plane, a point conic has the property that every line meets it in
property is a point conic. It follows dually that a line conic has two of its lines through
every point and any envelope of lines with this property is a line conic. At every point
of a point conic there is a unique tangent line, and dually, on every line of a line conic
there is a unique point called a point of contact. An important theorem states that the
tangent lines of a point conic form a line conic, and dually, the points of contact of a
line conic form a point conic.[54]

Von Staudt's definition

Karl Georg Christian von Staudt defined a conic as the point set given by all the
absolute points of a polarity that has absolute points. Von Staudt introduced this
definition in Geometrie der Lage (1847) as part of his attempt to remove all metrical
concepts from projective geometry.

A polarity, π, of a projective plane P is an involutory bijection between the points and

the lines of P that preserves the incidence relation. Thus, a polarity associates a point
Q with a line q by π(Q) = q and π(q) = Q. Following Gergonne, q is called the polar of Q
and Q the pole of q.[55] An absolute point (or line) of a polarity is one which is incident
with its polar (pole).[e]

A von Staudt conic in the real projective plane is equivalent to a Steiner conic.[56]

Constructions
No continuous arc of a conic can be constructed with straightedge and compass.
However, there are several straightedge-and-compass constructions for any number
of individual points on an arc.

One of them is based on the converse of Pascal's theorem, namely, if the points of
intersection of opposite sides of a hexagon are collinear, then the six vertices lie on a
conic. Specifically, given five points, A, B, C, D, E and a line passing through E, say EG,
a point F that lies on this line and is on the conic determined by the five points can be
constructed. Let AB meet DE in L, BC meet EG in M and let CD meet LM at N. Then
AN meets EG at the required point F.[57] By varying the line through E, as many
additional points on the conic as desired can be constructed.

Parallelogram method for

constructing an ellipse

Another method, based on Steiner's construction and which is useful in engineering

applications, is the parallelogram method, where a conic is constructed point by point
by means of connecting certain equally spaced points on a horizontal line and a
x2 y2
vertical line.[58] Specifically, to construct the ellipse with equation ⁠a2 ⁠+ ⁠b2 ⁠= 1, first
construct the rectangle ABCD with vertices A(a, 0), B(a, 2b), C(−a, 2b) and D(−a, 0).
Divide the side BC into n equal segments and use parallel projection, with respect to
the diagonal AC, to form equal segments on side AB (the lengths of these segments
b
will be ⁠a ⁠times the length of the segments on BC). On the side BC label the left-hand
endpoints of the segments with A1 to An starting at B and going towards C. On the
side AB label the upper endpoints D1 to Dn starting at A and going towards B. The
points of intersection, AAi ∩ DDi for 1 ≤ i ≤ n will be points of the ellipse between A
and P(0, b). The labeling associates the lines of the pencil through A with the lines of
the pencil through D projectively but not perspectively. The sought for conic is
obtained by this construction since three points A, D and P and two tangents (the
vertical lines at A and D) uniquely determine the conic. If another diameter (and its
conjugate diameter) are used instead of the major and minor axes of the ellipse, a
parallelogram that is not a rectangle is used in the construction, giving the name of
the method. The association of lines of the pencils can be extended to obtain other
points on the ellipse. The constructions for hyperbolas[59] and parabolas[60] are
similar.

Yet another general method uses the polarity property to construct the tangent
envelope of a conic (a line conic).[61]

In the complex projective

plane
In the complex plane C2, ellipses and hyperbolas are not distinct: one may consider a
hyperbola as an ellipse with an imaginary axis length. For example, the ellipse
becomes a hyperbola under the substitution geometrically a
complex rotation, yielding . Thus there is a 2-way classification:
ellipse/hyperbola and parabola. Extending the curves to the complex projective plane,
this corresponds to intersecting the line at infinity in either 2 distinct points
(corresponding to two asymptotes) or in 1 double point (corresponding to the axis of
a parabola); thus the real hyperbola is a more suggestive real image for the complex
ellipse/hyperbola, as it also has 2 (real) intersections with the line at infinity.

Further unification occurs in the complex projective plane CP2: the non-degenerate
conics cannot be distinguished from one another, since any can be taken to any other
by a projective linear transformation.

It can be proven that in CP2, two conic sections have four points in common (if one
accounts for multiplicity), so there are between 1 and 4 intersection points. The
intersection possibilities are: four distinct points, two singular points and one double
point, two double points, one singular point and one with multiplicity 3, one point with
multiplicity 4. If any intersection point has multiplicity > 1, the two curves are said to
be tangent. If there is an intersection point of multiplicity at least 3, the two curves are
said to be osculating. If there is only one intersection point, which has multiplicity 4,
the two curves are said to be superosculating.[62]

Furthermore, each straight line intersects each conic section twice. If the intersection
point is double the line is a tangent line Intersecting with the line at infinity each
conic section has two points at infinity. If these points are real, the curve is a
hyperbola; if they are imaginary conjugates, it is an ellipse; if there is only one double
point, it is a parabola. If the points at infinity are the cyclic points (1, i, 0) and (1, –i, 0),
the conic section is a circle. If the coefficients of a conic section are real, the points at
infinity are either real or complex conjugate.

Degenerate cases
What should be considered as a degenerate case of a conic depends on the definition
being used and the geometric setting for the conic section. There are some authors
who define a conic as a two-dimensional nondegenerate quadric. With this
terminology there are no degenerate conics (only degenerate quadrics), but we shall
use the more traditional terminology and avoid that definition.

In the Euclidean plane, using the geometric definition, a degenerate case arises when
the cutting plane passes through the apex of the cone. The degenerate conic is either:
a point, when the plane intersects the cone only at the apex; a straight line, when the
plane is tangent to the cone (it contains exactly one generator of the cone); or a pair
of intersecting lines (two generators of the cone).[63] These correspond respectively
to the limiting forms of an ellipse, parabola, and a hyperbola.

If a conic in the Euclidean plane is being defined by the zeros of a quadratic equation
(that is, as a quadric), then the degenerate conics are: the empty set, a point, or a pair
of lines which may be parallel, intersect at a point, or coincide. The empty set case
may correspond either to a pair of complex conjugate parallel lines such as with the
equation or to an imaginary ellipse, such as with the equation
An imaginary ellipse does not satisfy the general definition of a
degeneracy, and is thus not normally considered as degenerated.[64] The two lines
case occurs when the quadratic expression factors into two linear factors, the zeros
of each giving a line. In the case that the factors are the same, the corresponding
lines coincide and we refer to the line as a double line (a line with multiplicity 2) and
this is the previous case of a tangent cutting plane.

In the real projective plane, since parallel lines meet at a point on the line at infinity,
However, as the point of intersection is the apex of the cone, the cone itself
degenerates to a cylinder, i.e. with the apex at infinity. Other sections in this case are
called cylindric sections.[65] The non-degenerate cylindrical sections are ellipses (or
circles).

When viewed from the perspective of the complex projective plane, the degenerate
cases of a real quadric (i.e., the quadratic equation has real coefficients) can all be
considered as a pair of lines, possibly coinciding. The empty set may be the line at
infinity considered as a double line, a (real) point is the intersection of two complex
conjugate lines and the other cases as previously mentioned.

To distinguish the degenerate cases from the non-degenerate cases (including the
empty set with the latter) using matrix notation, let β be the determinant of the 3 × 3
B2 BED − CD2 − AE2
matrix of the conic section—that is, β = (AC − ⁠ 4 ⁠)F + ⁠ 4
⁠; and let
α = B2 − 4AC be the discriminant. Then the conic section is non-degenerate if and
only if β ≠ 0. If β = 0 we have a point when α < 0, two parallel lines (possibly
coinciding) when α = 0, or two intersecting lines when α > 0.[66]

Pencil of conics
A (non-degenerate) conic is completely determined by five points in general position
(no three collinear) in a plane and the system of conics which pass through a fixed
set of four points (again in a plane and no three collinear) is called a pencil of
conics.[67] The four common points are called the base points of the pencil. Through
any point other than a base point, there passes a single conic of the pencil. This
concept generalizes a pencil of circles.[68]

Intersecting two conics

The solutions to a system of two second degree equations in two variables may be
viewed as the coordinates of the points of intersection of two generic conic sections.
In particular two conics may possess none two or four possibly coincident
intersection points. An efficient method of locating these solutions exploits the
homogeneous matrix representation of conic sections, i.e. a 3 × 3 symmetric matrix
which depends on six parameters.

The procedure to locate the intersection points follows these steps, where the conics
are represented by matrices:[69]

given the two conics and ,

consider the pencil of conics given
by their linear combination

identify the homogeneous

parameters which
correspond to the degenerate conic
of the pencil. This can be done by
imposing the condition that
and
solving for and . These turn out
to be the solutions of a third degree
equation.
 given the degenerate conic ,
identify the two, possibly
coincident, lines constituting it.
intersect each identified line with
either one of the two original
conics; this step can be done
efficiently using the dual conic
representation of
the points of intersection will
represent the solutions to the initial
equation system.

Generalizations
Conics may be defined over other fields (that is, in other pappian geometries).
However, some care must be used when the field has characteristic 2, as some
formulas can not be used. For example, the matrix representations used above
require division by 2.
A generalization of a non-degenerate conic in a projective plane is an oval. An oval is
a point set that has the following properties, which are held by conics: 1) any line
intersects an oval in none, one or two points, 2) at any point of the oval there exists a
unique tangent line.

Generalizing the focus properties of conics to the case where there are more than two
foci produces sets called generalized conics.

The intersection of an elliptic cone with a sphere is a spherical conic, which shares
many properties with planar conics.

In other areas of
mathematics
The classification into elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic is pervasive in mathematics,
and often divides a field into sharply distinct subfields. The classification mostly
arises due to the presence of a quadratic form (in two variables this corresponds to
the associated discriminant), but can also correspond to eccentricity.

Quadratic form classifications:

Quadratic forms
Quadratic forms over the reals are
classified by Sylvester's law of
inertia, namely by their positive
index, zero index, and negative
index: a quadratic form in n
variables can be converted to a
diagonal form, as

where the number of +1

coefficients, k, is the positive index,
the number of −1 coefficients, ℓ, is
the negative index, and the
remaining variables are the zero
index m, so In
two variables the non-zero
quadratic forms are classified as:
– positive-definite (the
negative is also included),
corresponding to ellipses,

– degenerate, corresponding
to parabolas, and
 – indefinite,
corresponding to hyperbolas.
In two variables quadratic forms
are classified by discriminant,
analogously to conics, but in higher
dimensions the more useful
classification is as definite, (all
positive or all negative), degenerate,
(some zeros), or indefinite (mix of
positive and negative but no zeros).
This classification underlies many
that follow.
Curvature
The Gaussian curvature of a
surface describes the infinitesimal
geometry, and may at each point be
either positive – elliptic geometry,
zero – Euclidean geometry (flat,
parabola), or negative – hyperbolic
geometry; infinitesimally, to second
order the surface looks like the
graph of (or 0), or
. Indeed, by the
uniformization theorem every
surface can be taken to be globally
(at every point) positively curved,
flat, or negatively curved. In higher
dimensions the Riemann curvature
tensor is a more complicated
object, but manifolds with constant
sectional curvature are interesting
objects of study, and have strikingly
 different properties, as discussed
at sectional curvature.
Second order PDEs
Partial differential equations
(PDEs) of second order are
classified at each point as elliptic,
parabolic, or hyperbolic, accordingly
as their second order terms
correspond to an elliptic, parabolic,
or hyperbolic quadratic form. The
behavior and theory of these
different types of PDEs are
strikingly different – representative
examples is that the Poisson
equation is elliptic, the heat
 equation is parabolic, and the wave
equation is hyperbolic.
Eccentricity classifications include:

Möbius transformations
Real Möbius transformations
(elements of PSL2(R) or its 2-fold
cover, SL2(R)) are classified as
elliptic, parabolic, or hyperbolic
accordingly as their half-trace is
or
mirroring the
classification by eccentricity.
Variance-to-mean ratio
The variance-to-mean ratio
classifies several important
families of discrete probability
distributions: the constant
distribution as circular (eccentricity
0), binomial distributions as
elliptical, Poisson distributions as
parabolic, and negative binomial
distributions as hyperbolic. This is
elaborated at cumulants of some
discrete probability distributions.

In this interactive SVG, move left and

right over the SVG image to rotate the
double cone
See also

Confocal conic sections

Circumconic and inconic
Director circle
Elliptic coordinate system
Equidistant set
Parabolic coordinates
Quadratic function
Spherical conic

Notes

a. The empty set is included as a

degenerate conic, since it may arise
 as a solution of this equation.

b. According to Plutarch, this solution

was rejected by Plato on the grounds
that it could not be achieved using
only straightedge and compass,
however this interpretation of
Plutarch's statement has come under
criticism. Boyer 2004, p.14, footnote
14.

c. This form of the equation does not

generalize to fields of characteristic
two.

d. Consider finding the midpoint of a line

segment with one endpoint on the line
at infinity.

e. Coxeter and several other authors use

the term 'self-conjugate' instead of
 'absolute'.

References

1. Eves 1963, p. 319

2. Brannan, Esplen & Gray 1999, p. 13
3. Cohen, D., Precalculus: With Unit
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External links

Weisstein, Eric W. "Conic Section"

(https://mathworld.wolfram.com/C
onicSection.html) . MathWorld.
Occurrence of the conics. Conics in
nature and elsewhere (https://web.
archive.org/web/20060406010638/
http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.c
a/jbconics.htm) .

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