FC020 Conic Sections Handout Week 7

Conic Sections: The intersection of a plane with a double cone (see Fig. 1) gives rise to curves called conic sections. Dierent positions of the plane produce dierent curves: for example, we can obtain a parabola, an ellipse, a circle, or a hyperbola.

Figure 1: A double cone showing various intersecting planes. The Parabola: A parabola is the curve given by the intersection of a plane at an angle parallel to the edge of a given cone (i. e. parallel to the generator of a cone). A parabola has the general equation given by Eq. 1. y 2 = 4px, where p is a constant. Similarly, we could have the general equation given by Eq. 2 x2 = 4py, where p is a constant. (2) (1)

A physical example of a parabola in science and engineering is the motion of a massive object in a gravitational eld (e. g. throwing a ball from one side of a room to another). Similarly, the motion of a charged particle in an electric eld follows parabolic motion.

The Ellipse: An ellipse is the curve given by the intersection of a plane at an angle less than the generator of a given cone. The intersection is such that the produced curve is a closed loop (unlike the open-loop parabola). An ellipse, with centre (x1 , y1 ) is given by Eq. 3. (x x1 ) a
2

(y y1 ) b

= 1.

(3)

In the special case where the ellipse is centred on the origin we get Eq. 4: x2 y 2 + 2 = 1, (4) a2 b where the x intercepts are given by the coordinates (a, 0) and the y intercepts are given by (0, b). A circle is a special case of an ellipse whereby a = b. The eccentricity of an ellipse is a measure of how circular the ellipse is (a circle has e = 0). Eccentricity is given by Eq. 5: a2 b2 e= . (5) a A physical example of an ellipse in science and engineering is the motion of the planets around the stars. For many planets, elliptical motion can be approximated fairly well as circular motion (as e 0). For the special case when e = 0, we can consider the motion of a charged particle in a magnetic eld as circular motion.

The Hyperbola: A hyperbola is the curve given by the intersection of a plane at an angle steeper than the generator of a given cone (i. e. the plane cuts both the upper and lower cone). A parabola has the general equation given by Eq. 6. x2 y 2 2 = 1. a2 b A hyperbola has two oblique asymptotes given by y = (b/a)x. (6)

A physical example of a hyperbola in science and engineering is the motion of an object on an escape velocity trajectory in a gravitational eld. Similarly, the motion of many deected alpha particles in Rutherfords Gold Foil experiment follow a hyperbolic path. A rectangular hyperbola is the case where the asymptotes are the x and y axes. A rectangular hyperbola has the general equation given by Eq. 7: xy = a2 , a is a constant. (7)