Cross productIn mathematics, the cross product or vector product (occasionally directed area product, to emphasize its geometric significance) is a binary operation on two vectors in a three-dimensional oriented Euclidean vector space (named here ), and is denoted by the symbol . Given two linearly independent vectors a and b, the cross product, a × b (read "a cross b"), is a vector that is perpendicular to both a and b, and thus normal to the plane containing them. It has many applications in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer programming.
CircleA circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. The distance between any point of the circle and the centre is called the radius. Usually, the radius is required to be a positive number. A circle with (a single point) is a degenerate case. This article is about circles in Euclidean geometry, and, in particular, the Euclidean plane, except where otherwise noted. Specifically, a circle is a simple closed curve that divides the plane into two regions: an interior and an exterior.
HyperbolaIn mathematics, a hyperbola (haɪˈpɜrbələ; pl. hyperbolas or hyperbolae -liː; adj. hyperbolic ˌhaɪpərˈbɒlɪk) is a type of smooth curve lying in a plane, defined by its geometric properties or by equations for which it is the solution set. A hyperbola has two pieces, called connected components or branches, that are mirror images of each other and resemble two infinite bows. The hyperbola is one of the three kinds of conic section, formed by the intersection of a plane and a double cone.
EllipseIn mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in which the two focal points are the same. The elongation of an ellipse is measured by its eccentricity , a number ranging from (the limiting case of a circle) to (the limiting case of infinite elongation, no longer an ellipse but a parabola).
Unit hyperbolaIn geometry, the unit hyperbola is the set of points (x,y) in the Cartesian plane that satisfy the implicit equation In the study of indefinite orthogonal groups, the unit hyperbola forms the basis for an alternative radial length Whereas the unit circle surrounds its center, the unit hyperbola requires the conjugate hyperbola to complement it in the plane. This pair of hyperbolas share the asymptotes y = x and y = −x.
Triple productIn geometry and algebra, the triple product is a product of three 3-dimensional vectors, usually Euclidean vectors. The name "triple product" is used for two different products, the scalar-valued scalar triple product and, less often, the vector-valued vector triple product. The scalar triple product (also called the mixed product, box product, or triple scalar product) is defined as the dot product of one of the vectors with the cross product of the other two.
Homogeneous coordinatesIn mathematics, homogeneous coordinates or projective coordinates, introduced by August Ferdinand Möbius in his 1827 work Der barycentrische Calcul, are a system of coordinates used in projective geometry, just as Cartesian coordinates are used in Euclidean geometry. They have the advantage that the coordinates of points, including points at infinity, can be represented using finite coordinates. Formulas involving homogeneous coordinates are often simpler and more symmetric than their Cartesian counterparts.
Tangent lines to circlesIn Euclidean plane geometry, a tangent line to a circle is a line that touches the circle at exactly one point, never entering the circle's interior. Tangent lines to circles form the subject of several theorems, and play an important role in many geometrical constructions and proofs. Since the tangent line to a circle at a point P is perpendicular to the radius to that point, theorems involving tangent lines often involve radial lines and orthogonal circles. A tangent line t to a circle C intersects the circle at a single point T.
ParabolaIn mathematics, a parabola is a plane curve which is mirror-symmetrical and is approximately U-shaped. It fits several superficially different mathematical descriptions, which can all be proved to define exactly the same curves. One description of a parabola involves a point (the focus) and a line (the directrix). The focus does not lie on the directrix. The parabola is the locus of points in that plane that are equidistant from the directrix and the focus.
Coordinate systemIn geometry, a coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of the coordinates is significant, and they are sometimes identified by their position in an ordered tuple and sometimes by a letter, as in "the x-coordinate". The coordinates are taken to be real numbers in elementary mathematics, but may be complex numbers or elements of a more abstract system such as a commutative ring.
Apollonian circlesIn geometry, Apollonian circles are two families (pencils) of circles such that every circle in the first family intersects every circle in the second family orthogonally, and vice versa. These circles form the basis for bipolar coordinates. They were discovered by Apollonius of Perga, a renowned Greek geometer. The Apollonian circles are defined in two different ways by a line segment denoted CD.
Circles of ApolloniusThe circles of Apollonius are any of several sets of circles associated with Apollonius of Perga, a renowned Greek geometer. Most of these circles are found in planar Euclidean geometry, but analogs have been defined on other surfaces; for example, counterparts on the surface of a sphere can be defined through stereographic projection. The main uses of this term are fivefold: Apollonius showed that a circle can be defined as the set of points in a plane that have a specified ratio of distances to two fixed points, known as foci.
Twin circlesIn geometry, the twin circles are two special circles associated with an arbelos. An arbelos is determined by three collinear points A, B, and C, and is the curvilinear triangular region between the three semicircles that have AB, BC, and AC as their diameters. If the arbelos is partitioned into two smaller regions by a line segment through the middle point of A, B, and C, perpendicular to line ABC, then each of the two twin circles lies within one of these two regions, tangent to its two semicircular sides and to the splitting segment.
Line coordinatesIn geometry, line coordinates are used to specify the position of a line just as point coordinates (or simply coordinates) are used to specify the position of a point. There are several possible ways to specify the position of a line in the plane. A simple way is by the pair (m, b) where the equation of the line is y = mx + b. Here m is the slope and b is the y-intercept. This system specifies coordinates for all lines that are not vertical. However, it is more common and simpler algebraically to use coordinates (l, m) where the equation of the line is lx + my + 1 = 0.
Barycentric coordinate systemIn geometry, a barycentric coordinate system is a coordinate system in which the location of a point is specified by reference to a simplex (a triangle for points in a plane, a tetrahedron for points in three-dimensional space, etc.). The barycentric coordinates of a point can be interpreted as masses placed at the vertices of the simplex, such that the point is the center of mass (or barycenter) of these masses. These masses can be zero or negative; they are all positive if and only if the point is inside the simplex.
Plücker coordinatesIn geometry, Plücker coordinates, introduced by Julius Plücker in the 19th century, are a way to assign six homogeneous coordinates to each line in projective 3-space, \mathbb P^3. Because they satisfy a quadratic constraint, they establish a one-to-one correspondence between the 4-dimensional space of lines in \mathbb P^3 and points on a quadric in \mathbb P^5 (projective 5-space). A predecessor and special case of Grassmann coordinates (which describe k-dimensional linear subspaces, or flats, in an n-dimensional Euclidean space), Plücker coordinates arise naturally in geometric algebra.
Point at infinityIn geometry, a point at infinity or ideal point is an idealized limiting point at the "end" of each line. In the case of an affine plane (including the Euclidean plane), there is one ideal point for each pencil of parallel lines of the plane. Adjoining these points produces a projective plane, in which no point can be distinguished, if we "forget" which points were added. This holds for a geometry over any field, and more generally over any division ring. In the real case, a point at infinity completes a line into a topologically closed curve.
Right angleIn geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle of exactly 90 degrees or /2 radians corresponding to a quarter turn. If a ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the adjacent angles are equal, then they are right angles. The term is a calque of Latin angulus rectus; here rectus means "upright", referring to the vertical perpendicular to a horizontal base line. Closely related and important geometrical concepts are perpendicular lines, meaning lines that form right angles at their point of intersection, and orthogonality, which is the property of forming right angles, usually applied to vectors.
Trilinear coordinatesIn geometry, the trilinear coordinates x : y : z of a point relative to a given triangle describe the relative directed distances from the three sidelines of the triangle. Trilinear coordinates are an example of homogeneous coordinates. The ratio x : y is the ratio of the perpendicular distances from the point to the sides (extended if necessary) opposite vertices A and B respectively; the ratio y : z is the ratio of the perpendicular distances from the point to the sidelines opposite vertices B and C respectively; and likewise for z : x and vertices C and A.
Seven-dimensional cross productIn mathematics, the seven-dimensional cross product is a bilinear operation on vectors in seven-dimensional Euclidean space. It assigns to any two vectors a, b in \mathbb{R}^7 a vector a × b also in \mathbb{R}^7. Like the cross product in three dimensions, the seven-dimensional product is anticommutative and a × b is orthogonal both to a and to b. Unlike in three dimensions, it does not satisfy the Jacobi identity, and while the three-dimensional cross product is unique up to a sign, there are many seven-dimensional cross products.
