Conic-section definition

A curve, either an ellipse, circle, parabola, or hyperbola, produced by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone.
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The intersection of a right circular cone and a plane, which generates one of a group of plane curves, including the circle, ellipse, hyperbola, and parabola.
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A graph of the general quadratic equation in two variables.
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The branch of geometry dealing with ellipses, circles, parabolas, and hyperbolas.
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A curve formed by the intersection of a plane with a cone. Conic sections can appear as circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, or parabolas, depending on the angle of the intersecting plane relative to the cone's base.
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(geometry) Any of the four distinct shapes that are the intersections of a cone with a plane, namely the circle, ellipse, parabola and hyperbola.
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Other Word Forms

Noun

Singular:
conic-section
Plural:
conic-sections

Conic-section Sentence Examples

  • It is therefore a conic section having its eccentricity equal to unity.

  • If the attraction of a central body is not the only force acting on the moving body, the orbit will deviate from the form of a conic section in a degree depending on the amount of the extraneous force; and the curve described may not be a re-entering curve at all, but one winding around so as to form an indefinite succession of spires.

  • If the roof be not horizontal, we may obtain in this way any form of conic section.

  • The relation of the ellipse to the other conic sections is treated in the articles Conic Section and Geometry; in this article a summary of the properties of the curve will be given.

  • In projective geometry it is convenient to define a conic section as the projection of a circle.

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Words near conic-section in the Dictionary