Ellipse From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Elliptical" redirects here.

For the exercise machine, see Elliptical trainer. This article is about the geometric figure. For other uses, see Ellipse (disambi guation). Not to be confused with ellipsis. An ellipse obtained as the intersection of a cone with an inclined plane. The rings of Saturn are circular, but when seen partially edge on, as in this im age, they appear to be ellipses. In addition, the planet itself is an ellipsoid, flatter at the poles than the equator. Picture by ESO In mathematics, an ellipse (from Greek ???e???? elleipsis, a "falling short") is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve. Circles are special cases of ellipses, obtained wh en the cutting plane is orthogonal to the cone's axis. Analytically, an ellipse is defined as the set of points such that the distance of each point from a give n point (called a focus) bears a constant ratio (called the eccentricity) of les s than 1 to its distance from a given straight line (the directrix). An ellipse is also the locus of all points in the plane whose distances to two fixed points (the foci) add to the same constant. The name ???e???? was given by Apollonius of Perga in his Conics, emphasizing the connection of the curve with "applicatio n of areas". Ellipses are closed curves and are the bounded case of the conic sections, the c urves that result from the intersection of a circular cone and a plane that does not pass through its apex; the other two (open and unbounded) cases are parabol as and hyperbolas. Ellipses arise from the intersection of a right circular cyli nder with a plane that is not parallel to the cylinder's main axis of symmetry. Ellipses also arise as images of a circle under parallel projection and the boun ded cases of perspective projection, which are simply intersections of the proje ctive cone with the plane of projection. It is also the simplest Lissajous figur e, formed when the horizontal and vertical motions are sinusoids with the same f requency. Contents [hide] 1 Elements of an ellipse 2 Drawing ellipses 2.1 Pins-and-string method 2.2 Other methods 2.2.1 Trammel method 2.2.2 Parallelogram method 2.3 Approximations to ellipses 3 Mathematical definitions and properties 3.1 In Euclidean geometry 3.1.1 Definition 3.1.2 Equations 3.1.3 Focus 3.1.4 Eccentricity 3.1.5 Directrix 3.1.6 Circular directrix 3.1.7 Ellipse as hypotrochoid 3.1.8 Area 3.1.9 Circumference 3.1.10 Chords 3.1.10.1 Latus rectum 3.2 In projective geometry 3.3 In analytic geometry 3.3.1 General ellipse

3.3.2 Canonical form 3.4 In trigonometry 3.4.1 General parametric form 3.4.2 Parametric form in canonical position 3.4.3 Polar form relative to center 3.4.4 Polar form relative to focus 3.4.5 General polar form 3.4.6 Angular eccentricity 3.5 Degrees of freedom 4 Ellipses in physics 4.1 Elliptical reflectors and acoustics 4.2 Planetary orbits 4.3 Harmonic oscillators 4.4 Phase visualization 4.5 Elliptical gears 4.6 Optics 5 Ellipses in statistics and finance 6 Ellipses in computer graphics 6.1 Drawing with Bezier spline paths 7 Line segment as a type of degenerate ellipse 8 Ellipses in optimization theory 9 See also 10 References 11 Notes 12 External links Elements of an ellipse[edit]

The ellipse and some of its mathematical properties. An ellipse is a smooth closed curve which is symmetric about its horizontal and vertical axes. The distance between antipodal points on the ellipse, or pairs of points whose midpoint is at the center of the ellipse, is maximum along the maj or axis or transverse diameter, and a minimum along the perpendicular minor axis or conjugate diameter.[1] The semi-major axis (denoted by a in the figure) and the semi-minor axis (denote d by b in the figure) are one half of the major and minor axes, respectively. Th ese are sometimes called (especially in technical fields) the major and minor se mi-axes,[2][3] the major and minor semiaxes,[4][5] or major radius and minor rad ius.[6][7][8][9] The four points where these axes cross the ellipse are the vert ices, points where its curvature is minimized or maximized.[10] The foci of an ellipse are two special points F1 and F2 on the ellipse's major a xis and are equidistant from the center point. The sum of the distances from any point P on the ellipse to those two foci is constant and equal to the major axi s (PF1 + PF2 = 2a). Each of these two points is called a focus of the ellipse. Refer to the lower Directrix section of this article for a second equivalent con struction of an ellipse. The eccentricity of an ellipse, usually denoted by e or e, is the ratio of the d istance between the two foci, to the length of the major axis or e = 2f/2a = f/a . For an ellipse the eccentricity is between 0 and 1 (0 < e < 1). When the eccen tricity is 0 the foci coincide with the center point and the figure is a circle. As the eccentricity tends toward 1, the ellipse gets a more elongated shape. It tends towards a line segment (see below) if the two foci remain a finite distan ce apart and a parabola if one focus is kept fixed as the other is allowed to mo ve arbitrarily far away. The distance ae from a focal point to the centre is called the linear eccentrici ty of the ellipse (f = ae). Drawing ellipses[edit] Pins-and-string method[edit]

Drawing an ellipse with two pins, a loop, and a pen. The characterization of an ellipse as the locus of points so that sum of the dis tances to the foci is constant leads to a method of drawing one using two drawin g pins, a length of string, and a pencil.[11] In this method, pins are pushed in to the paper at two points which will become the ellipse's foci. A string tied a t each end to the two pins and the tip of a pen is used to pull the loop taut so as to form a triangle. The tip of the pen will then trace an ellipse if it is m oved while keeping the string taut. Using two pegs and a rope, this procedure is traditionally used by gardeners to outline an elliptical flower bed; thus it is called the gardener's ellipse.[12] Other methods[edit] Trammel method[edit] Trammel of Archimedes (ellipsograph) animation An ellipse can also be drawn using a ruler, a set square, and a pencil: Draw two perpendicular lines M,N on the paper; these will be the major (M) and m inor (N) axes of the ellipse. Mark three points A, B, C on the ruler. A->C being the length of the semi-major axis and B->C the length of the semi-minor axis. W ith one hand, move the ruler on the paper, turning and sliding it so as to keep point A always on line N, and B on line M. With the other hand, keep the pencil' s tip on the paper, following point C of the ruler. The tip will trace out an el lipse. The trammel of Archimedes or ellipsograph is a mechanical device that implements this principle. The ruler is replaced by a rod with a pencil holder (point C) a t one end, and two adjustable side pins (points A and B) that slide into two per pendicular slots cut into a metal plate.[13] The mechanism can be used with a ro uter to cut ellipses from board material. The mechanism is also used in a toy ca lled the "nothing grinder". Parallelogram method[edit] Ellipse construction applying the parallelogram method In the parallelogram method, an ellipse is constructed point by point using equa lly spaced points on two horizontal lines and equally spaced points on two verti cal lines. Similar methods exist for the parabola and hyperbola. Approximations to ellipses[edit] An ellipse of low eccentricity can be represented reasonably accurately by a cir cle with its centre offset. To draw the orbit with a pair of compasses the centr e of the circle should be offset from the focus by an amount equal to the eccent ricity multiplied by the radius. Mathematical definitions and properties[edit] In Euclidean geometry[edit] Definition[edit] In Euclidean geometry, the ellipse is usually defined as the bounded case of a c onic section, or as the set of points such that the sum of the distances to two fixed points (the foci) is constant. The ellipse can also be defined as the set of points such that the distance from any point in that set to a given point in the plane (a focus) is a constant positive fraction less than 1 (the eccentricit y) of the perpendicular distance of the point in the set to a given line (called the directrix). Yet another equivalent definition of the ellipse is that it is the set of points that are equidistant from one point in the plane (a focus) and a particular circle, the directrix circle (whose center is the other focus). The equivalence of these definitions can be proved using the Dandelin spheres. Equations[edit] The equation of an ellipse whose major and minor axes coincide with the Cartesia n axes is \left(\frac{x}{a}\right)^2 + \left(\frac{y}{b}\right)^2 = 1.

This means any noncircular ellipse is a squashed circle. If we draw an ellipse t wice as long as it is wide, and draw the circle centered at the ellipse's center with diameter equal to the ellipse's longer axis, then on any line parallel to the shorter axis the length within the circle is twice the length within the ell ipse. So the area enclosed by an ellipse is easy to calculate it's the lengths of elliptic arcs that are hard. Focus[edit] The distance from the center C to either focus is f = ae, which can be expressed in terms of the major and minor radii: f = \sqrt{a^2-b^2}. Eccentricity[edit] The eccentricity of the ellipse (commonly denoted as either e or \varepsilon) is e=\varepsilon=\sqrt{\frac{a^2-b^2}{a^2}} =\sqrt{1-\left(\frac{b}{a}\right)^2} =f/a (where again a and b are one-half of the ellipse's major and minor axes respecti vely, and f is the focal distance) or, as expressed in terms using the flattenin g factor g=1-\frac {b}{a}=1-\sqrt{1-e^2}, e=\sqrt{g(2-g)}. Other formulas for the eccentricity of an ellipse are listed in the article on e ccentricity of conic sections. Formulas for the eccentricity of an ellipse that is expressed in the more general quadratic form are described in the article ded icated to conic sections. Directrix[edit] Ellipse Properties of Directrix.svg Each focus F of the ellipse is associated with a line parallel to the minor axis called a directrix. Refer to the illustration on the right, in which the ellips e is centered at the origin. The distance from any point P on the ellipse to the focus F is a constant fraction of that point's perpendicular distance to the di rectrix, resulting in the equality e = PF/PD. The ratio of these two distances i s the eccentricity of the ellipse. This property (which can be proved using the Dandelin spheres) can be taken as another definition of the ellipse. Besides the well-known ratio e = f/a, where f is the distance from the center to the focus and a is the distance from the center to a vertex (most sharply curve d point of the ellipse), it is also true that e = a/d, where d is the distance f rom the center to the directrix. Circular directrix[edit] The ellipse can also be defined as the set of points that are equidistant from o ne focus and a circle, the directrix circle, that is centered on the other focus . The radius of the directrix circle equals the ellipse's major axis, so the foc us and the entire ellipse are inside the directrix circle. Ellipse as hypotrochoid[edit] An ellipse (in red) as a special case of the hypotrochoid with R = 2r. The ellipse is a special case of the hypotrochoid when R = 2r. Area[edit] The area enclosed by an ellipse is pab, where a and b are one-half of the ellips e's major and minor axes respectively. If the ellipse is given by the implicit equation A x^2+ B x y + C y^2 = 1 , the n the area is \frac{2\pi}{\sqrt{ 4 A C - B^2 }}. We can derive the area formula pab by using the coordinate transformation \bold {T}(r,\theta) = ( ra \cos\theta , rb \sin\theta ). Now any point on the ellipse with x-intercept a and y-intercept b can be defined in terms of r and \theta, where 0 \leqslant r \leqslant 1 and 0 \leqslant \th eta \leqslant 2\pi . To define the area differential in such coordinates we use the Jacobian matrix o f the coordinate transformation times dr\,d\theta: dA_\text{ellipse} = \det \beg in{pmatrix} \frac{\partial \bold{T}}{\partial r} & \frac{\partial \bold{T}}{\par

tial \theta}\\ \end{pmatrix} \,dr\,d\theta = \det \begin{pmatrix} a\cos\theta & -ra\sin\theta\\ b\sin\theta & rb\cos\theta \end{pmatrix} \,dr\,d\theta = abr\,dr\,d\theta. We now integrate over the ellipse to find the area: A_\text{ellipse} = \int_\text{ellipse} dA_\text{ellipse} = \iint_\text{ell ipse} abr\,dr\,d\theta = ab \int_{0}^{2\pi} \int_{0}^{1}r\,dr\,d\theta = ab\pi. Circumference[edit] The circumference C of an ellipse is: C = 4 a E(e) where again a is the length of the semi-major axis and e is the eccentricity and where the function E is the complete elliptic integral of the second kind. This may be evaluated directly using the Carlson symmetric form[14] as illustrated b y the following python code (this converges quadratically): def EllipseCircumference(a, b): """ Compute the circumference of an ellipse with semi-axes a and b. Require a >= 0 and b >= 0. Relative accuracy is about 0.5^53. """ import math x, y = max(a, b), min(a, b) digits = 53; tol = math.sqrt(math.pow(0.5, digits)) if digits * y < tol * x: return 4 * x s = 0; m = 1 while x - y > tol * y: x, y = 0.5 * (x + y), math.sqrt(x * y) m *= 2; s += m * math.pow(x - y, 2) return math.pi * (math.pow(a + b, 2) - s) / (x + y) The exact infinite series is: C = 2\pi a \left[{1 - \left({1\over 2}\right)^2e^2 - \left({1\cdot 3\over 2\cdot 4}\right)^2{e^4\over 3} - \left({1\cdot 3\cdot 5\over 2\cdot 4\cdot 6}\right)^2 {e^6\over5} - \cdots}\right] or C = 2\pi a \left[1 - \sum_{n=1}^\infty \left(\frac{(2n - 1)!!}{2^n n!}\right)^2 \frac{e^{2n}}{2n - 1}\right], where n!! is the double factorial. Unfortunately, this series converges rather s lowly; however, by expanding in terms of h = (a-b)^2/(a+b)^2 , Ivory[15] and Be ssel[16] derived an expression which converges much more rapidly, C = \pi (a + b) \left[1 + \sum_{n=1}^\infty \left(\frac{(2n - 1)!!}{2^n n!}\righ t)^2 \frac{h^n}{(2n - 1)^2}\right]. A good approximation is Ramanujan's: C \approx \pi \left[3(a+b) - \sqrt{(3a+b)(a+3b)}\right]= \pi \left[3(a+b)-\sqrt{ 10ab+3(a^2+b^2)}\right] and a better approximation is C\approx\pi\left(a+b\right)\left(1+\frac{3h}{10+\sqrt{4-3h}}\right).\!\, For the special case where the minor axis is half the major axis, these become: C \approx \frac{\pi a (9 - \sqrt{35})}{2} or, as an estimate of the better approximation, C \approx \frac{a}{2} \sqrt{93 + \frac{1}{2} \sqrt{3}} More generally, the arc length of a portion of the circumference, as a function of the angle subtended, is given by an incomplete elliptic integral. See also: Meridian arc#Meridian distance on the ellipsoid The inverse function, the angle subtended as a function of the arc length, is gi ven by the elliptic functions.[citation needed] Chords[edit] The midpoints of a set of parallel chords of an ellipse are collinear.[17]:p.147 Latus rectum[edit] The chords of an ellipse which are perpendicular to the major axis and pass thro ugh one of its foci are called the latera recta of the ellipse. The length of ea ch latus rectum is

2b2 a . In projective geometry[edit] In projective geometry, an ellipse can be defined as the set of all points of in tersection between corresponding lines of two pencils of lines which are related by a projective map. By projective duality, an ellipse can be defined also as t he envelope of all lines that connect corresponding points of two lines which ar e related by a projective map. This definition also generates hyperbolae and parabolae. However, in projective geometry every conic section is equivalent to an ellipse. A parabola is an ellip se that is tangent to the line at infinity O, and the hyperbola is an ellipse th at crosses O. An ellipse is also the result of projecting a circle, sphere, or ellipse in thre e dimensions onto a plane, by parallel lines. It is also the result of conical ( perspective) projection of any of those geometric objects from a point O onto a plane P, provided that the plane Q that goes through O and is parallel to P does not cut the object. The image of an ellipse by any affine map is an ellipse, an d so is the image of an ellipse by any projective map M such that the line M-1(O ) does not touch or cross the ellipse. In analytic geometry[edit] General ellipse[edit] In analytic geometry, the ellipse is defined as the set of points (X,Y) of the C artesian plane that, in non-degenerate cases, satisfy the implicit equation[18][ 19] ~A X^2 + B X Y + C Y^2 + D X + E Y + F = 0 provided B^2 - 4AC < 0. To distinguish the degenerate cases from the non-degenerate case, let ? be the d eterminant of the 33 matrix [A, B/2, D/2 ; B/2, C, E/2 ; D/2, E/2, F ]: that is, ? = (AC - B2/4)F + BED/4 - CD2/4 - AE2/4. Then the ellipse is a non-degenerate r eal ellipse if and only if C? < 0. If C? > 0, we have an imaginary ellipse, and if ? = 0, we have a point ellipse.[20]:p.63 Canonical form[edit] Let a>b. By a proper choice of coordinate system, the ellipse can be described b y the canonical implicit equation \frac{x^2}{a^2}+\frac{y^2}{b^2}=1 Here (x,y) are the point coordinates in the canonical system, whose origin is th e center (X_c,Y_c) of the ellipse, whose x-axis is the unit vector (X_a,Y_a) coi nciding with the major axis, and whose y-axis is the perpendicular vector (-Y_a, X_a) coinciding with the minor axis. That is, x = X_a(X - X_c) + Y_a(Y - Y_c) an d y = -Y_a(X - X_c) + X_a(Y - Y_c). In this system, the center is the origin (0,0) and the foci are (-e a, 0) and (+ e a, 0). Any ellipse can be obtained by rotation and translation of a canonical ellipse w ith the proper semi-diameters. Translation of an ellipse centered at (X_c,Y_c) i s expressed as \frac{(x - X_c)^2}{a^2}+\frac{(y - Y_c)^2}{b^2}=1 Moreover, any canonical ellipse can be obtained by scaling the unit circle of \r eals^2, defined by the equation X^2+Y^2=1\, by factors a and b along the two axes. For an ellipse in canonical form, we have Y = \pm b\sqrt{1 - (X/a)^2} = \pm \sqrt{(a^2-X^2)(1 - e^2)} The distances from a point (X,Y) on the ellipse to the left and right foci are a + e X and a - e X, respectively. In trigonometry[edit] General parametric form[edit] An ellipse in general position can be expressed parametrically as the path of a point (X(t),Y(t)), where X(t)=X_c + a\,\cos t\,\cos \varphi - b\,\sin t\,\sin\varphi

Y(t)=Y_c + a\,\cos t\,\sin \varphi + b\,\sin t\,\cos\varphi as the parameter t varies from 0 to 2p. Here (X_c,Y_c) is the center of the elli pse, and \varphi is the angle between the X-axis and the major axis of the ellip se. Parametric form in canonical position[edit] Parametric equation for the ellipse (red) in canonical position. The eccentric a nomaly t is the angle of the blue line with the X-axis. For an ellipse in canonical position (center at origin, major axis along the X-a xis), the equation simplifies to X(t)=a\,\cos t Y(t)=b\,\sin t Note that the parameter t (called the eccentric anomaly in astronomy) is not the angle of (X(t),Y(t)) with the X-axis. For a given point on an ellipse, formulae connecting the tangential angle \phi, the polar angle from the ellipse center \theta, and the parametric angle t[21] a re:[22][23][24][25] -\cot\phi = \frac{a}{b} \tan t = \frac{\tan \theta}{(1 - g)^2} = \frac{\tan \the ta}{1 - e^2}, -\tan t = \frac{b}{a} \cot\phi = \sqrt{(1 - e^2)} \cot\phi = (1 - g) \cot\phi = \frac{-\tan\theta}{\sqrt{(1 - e^2)}} = -\frac{a}{b} \tan\theta. Polar form relative to center[edit] Polar coordinates centered at the center. In polar coordinates, with the origin at the center of the ellipse and with the angular coordinate \theta measured from the major axis, the ellipse's equation i s r(\theta)=\frac{ab}{\sqrt{(b \cos \theta)^2 + (a\sin \theta)^2}} Polar form relative to focus[edit] Polar coordinates centered at focus. If instead we use polar coordinates with the origin at one focus, with the angul ar coordinate \theta = 0 still measured from the major axis, the ellipse's equat ion is r(\theta)=\frac{a (1-e^{2})}{1 \pm e\cos\theta} where the sign in the denominator is negative if the reference direction \theta = 0 points towards the center (as illustrated on the right), and positive if tha t direction points away from the center. In the slightly more general case of an ellipse with one focus at the origin and the other focus at angular coordinate \phi, the polar form is r=\frac{a (1-e^{2})}{1 - e\cos(\theta - \phi)}. The angle \theta in these formulas is called the true anomaly of the point. The numerator a (1-e^{2}) of these formulas is the semi-latus rectum of the ellipse, usually denoted l. It is the distance from a focus of the ellipse to the ellips e itself, measured along a line perpendicular to the major axis. Semi-latus rectum. General polar form[edit] The following equation on the polar coordinates (r, ?) describes a general ellip se with semidiameters a and b, centered at a point (r0, ?0), with the a axis rot ated by f relative to the polar axis:[citation needed] r(\theta )=\frac{P(\theta )+Q(\theta )}{R(\theta )} where P(\theta )=r_0 \left[\left(b^2-a^2\right) \cos \left(\theta +\theta _0-2 \varphi \right)+\left(a^2+b^2\right) \cos \left(\theta -\theta_0\right)\right] Q(\theta )=\sqrt{2} a b \sqrt{R(\theta )-2 r_0^2 \sin ^2\left(\theta -\theta_0\r

ight)} R(\theta )=\left(b^2-a^2\right) \cos (2 \theta -2 \varphi )+a^2+b^2 Angular eccentricity[edit] The angular eccentricity \alpha is the angle whose sine is the eccentricity e; t hat is, \alpha=\sin^{-1}(e)=\cos^{-1}\left(\frac{b}{a}\right)=2\tan^{-1}\left(\sqrt{\fra c{a-b}{a+b}}\right);\,\! Degrees of freedom[edit] An ellipse in the plane has five degrees of freedom (the same as a general conic section), defining its position, orientation, shape, and scale. In comparison, circles have only three degrees of freedom (position and scale), while parabolae have four. Said another way, the set of all ellipses in the plane, with any nat ural metric (such as the Hausdorff distance) is a five-dimensional manifold. The se degrees can be identified with, for example, the coefficients A,B,C,D,E of th e implicit equation, or with the coefficients Xc, Yc, f, a, b of the general par ametric form. Ellipses in physics[edit] Elliptical reflectors and acoustics[edit] If the water's surface is disturbed at one focus of an elliptical water tank, th e circular waves created by that disturbance, after being reflected by the walls , will converge simultaneously to a single point the second focus. This is a con sequence of the total travel length being the same along any wall-bouncing path between the two foci. Similarly, if a light source is placed at one focus of an elliptic mirror, all l ight rays on the plane of the ellipse are reflected to the second focus. Since n o other smooth curve has such a property, it can be used as an alternative defin ition of an ellipse. (In the special case of a circle with a source at its cente r all light would be reflected back to the center.) If the ellipse is rotated al ong its major axis to produce an ellipsoidal mirror (specifically, a prolate sph eroid), this property will hold for all rays out of the source. Alternatively, a cylindrical mirror with elliptical cross-section can be used to focus light fro m a linear fluorescent lamp along a line of the paper; such mirrors are used in some document scanners. Sound waves are reflected in a similar way, so in a large elliptical room a pers on standing at one focus can hear a person standing at the other focus remarkabl y well. The effect is even more evident under a vaulted roof shaped as a section of a prolate spheroid. Such a room is called a whisper chamber. The same effect can be demonstrated with two reflectors shaped like the end caps of such a sphe roid, placed facing each other at the proper distance. Examples are the National Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol (where John Quincy Adams is said to have used this property for eavesdropping on political matters); the Mormon Tabe rnacle at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah; at an exhibit on sound at the M useum of Science and Industry in Chicago; in front of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Foellinger Auditorium; and also at a side chamber of the Pa lace of Charles V, in the Alhambra. Planetary orbits[edit] Main article: Elliptic orbit In the 17th century, Johannes Kepler discovered that the orbits along which the planets travel around the Sun are ellipses with the Sun at one focus, in his fir st law of planetary motion. Later, Isaac Newton explained this as a corollary of his law of universal gravitation. More generally, in the gravitational two-body problem, if the two bodies are bou nd to each other (i.e., the total energy is negative), their orbits are similar ellipses with the common barycenter being one of the foci of each ellipse. The o ther focus of either ellipse has no known physical significance. Interestingly, the orbit of either body in the reference frame of the other is also an ellipse, with the other body at one focus. Keplerian elliptical orbits are the result of any radially directed attraction f orce whose strength is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. Thu

s, in principle, the motion of two oppositely charged particles in empty space w ould also be an ellipse. (However, this conclusion ignores losses due to electro magnetic radiation and quantum effects which become significant when the particl es are moving at high speed.) For elliptical orbits, useful relations involving the eccentricity e are: e=\frac{r_{a}-r_{p}}{r_{a}+r_{p}}=\frac{r_{a}-r_{p}}{2a} r_{a}=(1+e)a r_{p}=(1-e)a where r_{a} is the radius at apoapsis (the farthest distance) r_{p} is the radius at periapsis (the closest distance) a is the length of the semi-major axis Also, in terms of r_{a} and r_{p}, the semi-major axis a is their arithmetic mea n, the semi-minor axis b is their geometric mean, and the semi-latus rectum l is their harmonic mean. In other words, a=\frac{r_{a}+r_{p}}{2} b=\sqrt[2]{r_{a}\cdot r_{p}} l=\frac{2}{\frac{1}{r_{a}}+\frac{1}{r_{p}}}=\frac{2r_{a}r_{p}}{r_{a}+r_{p}}. Harmonic oscillators[edit] The general solution for a harmonic oscillator in two or more dimensions is also an ellipse. Such is the case, for instance, of a long pendulum that is free to move in two dimensions; of a mass attached to a fixed point by a perfectly elast ic spring; or of any object that moves under influence of an attractive force th at is directly proportional to its distance from a fixed attractor. Unlike Keple rian orbits, however, these "harmonic orbits" have the center of attraction at t he geometric center of the ellipse, and have fairly simple equations of motion. Phase visualization[edit] In electronics, the relative phase of two sinusoidal signals can be compared by feeding them to the vertical and horizontal inputs of an oscilloscope. If the di splay is an ellipse, rather than a straight line, the two signals are out of pha se. Elliptical gears[edit] Two non-circular gears with the same elliptical outline, each pivoting around on e focus and positioned at the proper angle, will turn smoothly while maintaining contact at all times. Alternatively, they can be connected by a link chain or t iming belt, or in the case of a bicycle the main chainring may be elliptical, or an ovoid similar to an ellipse in form. Such elliptical gears may be used in me chanical equipment to produce variable angular speed or torque from a constant r otation of the driving axle, or in the case of a bicycle to allow a varying cran k rotation speed with inversely varying mechanical advantage. Elliptical bicycle gears make it easier for the chain to slide off the cog when changing gears.[26] An example gear application would be a device that winds thread onto a conical b obbin on a spinning machine. The bobbin would need to wind faster when the threa d is near the apex than when it is near the base.[27] Optics[edit] In a material that is optically anisotropic (birefringent), the refractive index depends on the direction of the light. The dependency can be described by an in dex ellipsoid. (If the material is optically isotropic, this ellipsoid is a sphe re.) In lamp-pumped solid-state lasers, elliptical cylinder-shaped reflectors have be en used to direct light from the pump lamp (coaxial with one ellipse focal axis) to the active medium rod (coaxial with the second focal axis).[28] In laser-plasma produced EUV light sources used in microchip lithography, EUV li ght is generated by plasma positioned in the primary focus of an ellipsoid mirro r and is collected in the secondary focus at the input of the lithography machin e.[29] Ellipses in statistics and finance[edit] In statistics, a bivariate random vector (X, Y) is jointly elliptically distribu

ted if its iso-density contours loci of equal values of the density function are ellipses. The concept extends to an arbitrary number of elements of the random vector, in which case in general the iso-density contours are ellipsoids. A spec ial case is the multivariate normal distribution. The elliptical distributions a re important in finance because if rates of return on assets are jointly ellipti cally distributed then all portfolios can be characterized completely by their m ean and variance that is, any two portfolios with identical mean and variance of portfolio return have identical distributions of portfolio return.[30][31] Ellipses in computer graphics[edit] Drawing an ellipse as a graphics primitive is common in standard display librari es, such as the MacIntosh QuickDraw API, and Direct2D on Windows. Jack Bresenham at IBM is most famous for the invention of 2D drawing primitives, including lin e and circle drawing, using only fast integer operations such as addition and br anch on carry bit. M. L. V. Pitteway extended Bresenham's algorithm for lines to conics in 1967.[32] Another efficient generalization to draw ellipses was inven ted in 1984 by Jerry Van Aken.[33] In 1970 Danny Cohen presented at the "Computer Graphics 1970" conference in Engl and a linear algorithm for drawing ellipses and circles. In 1971, L. B. Smith pu blished similar algorithms for all conic sections and proved them to have good p roperties.[34] These algorithms need only a few multiplications and additions to calculate each vector. It is beneficial to use a parametric formulation in computer graphics because th e density of points is greatest where there is the most curvature. Thus, the cha nge in slope between each successive point is small, reducing the apparent "jagg edness" of the approximation. Drawing with Bezier spline paths[edit] Multiple Bezier splines may also be used to draw an ellipse to sufficient accura cy, since any ellipse may be construed as an affine transformation of a circle. The spline methods used to draw a circle may be used to draw an ellipse, since t he constituent Bezier curves will behave appropriately under such transformation s. Line segment as a type of degenerate ellipse[edit] A line segment is a degenerate ellipse with semi-minor axis = 0 and eccentricity = 1, and with the focal points at the ends.[35] Although the eccentricity is 1 this is not a parabola. A radial elliptic trajectory is a non-trivial special ca se of an elliptic orbit, where the ellipse is a line segment. Ellipses in optimization theory[edit] It is sometimes useful to find the minimum bounding ellipse on a set of points. The ellipsoid method is quite useful for attacking this problem. See also[edit] Apollonius of Perga, the classical authority Cartesian oval, a generalization of the ellipse Circumconic and inconic Conic section Ellipsoid, a higher dimensional analog of an ellipse Elliptic coordinates, an orthogonal coordinate system based on families of ellip ses and hyperbolae Elliptical distribution, in statistics Elliptic partial differential equation Great ellipse Hyperbola Kepler's laws of planetary motion Matrix representation of conic sections n-ellipse, a generalization of the ellipse for n foci Oval Parabola

Proofs involving the ellipse Spheroid, the ellipsoid obtained by rotating an ellipse about its major or minor axis Steiner circumellipse, the unique ellipse circumscribing a triangle and sharing its centroid Steiner inellipse, the unique ellipse inscribed in a triangle with tangencies at the sides' midpoints Superellipse, a generalization of an ellipse that can look more rectangular or m ore "pointy" True, eccentric, and mean anomaly References[edit] Besant, W.H. (1907). "Chapter III. The Ellipse". Conic Sections. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 50. Miller, Charles D.; Lial, Margaret L.; Schneider, David I. (1990). Fundamentals of College Algebra (3rd ed.). Scott Foresman/Little. p. 381. ISBN 0-673-38638-4. Coxeter, H.S.M. (1969). Introduction to Geometry (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley. pp. 115 9. Ellipse at Planetmath Weisstein, Eric W., "Ellipse", MathWorld. Notes[edit] ^ Haswell, Charles Haynes (1920). Mechanics' and Engineers' Pocket-book of Table s, Rules, and Formulas. Harper & Brothers. ^ Herschel, Sir John Frederick William (1842). A treatise on astronomy. Lea & Bl anchard. p. 256. ^ Lankford, John (1997). History of Astronomy: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis . p. 194. ISBN 978-0-8153-0322-0. ^ Prasolov, Viktor Vasil'evich; Tikhomirov, Vladimir Mikhailovich (2001). Geomet ry. American Mathematical Society. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-8218-2038-4. ^ Fenna, Donald (2007). Cartographic Science: A Compendium of Map Projections, W ith Derivations. CRC Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8493-8169-0. ^ AutoCAD release 13 command reference. Autodesk, Inc. 1994. p. 216. ^ Salomon, David (2006). Curves And Surfaces for Computer Graphics. Birkhuser. p. 365. ISBN 978-0-387-24196-8. ^ Kreith, Frank; Goswami, D. Yogi (2005). The CRC Handbook Of Mechanical Enginee ring. CRC Press. pp. 11 8. ISBN 978-0-8493-0866-6. "Circles and Ellipses (11.3.2)" ^ The Mathematical Association of America (1976), The American Mathematical Mont hly, vol. 83, page 207 ^ Gibson, C. G. (2001), Elementary Geometry of Differentiable Curves: An Undergr aduate Introduction, Cambridge University Press, p. 127, ISBN 9780521011075. ^ Besant 1907, p. 57 ^ Armengaud, An (1853). "Ovals, Ellipses, Parabolas, Volutes, etc. 53". The Practic al Draughtsman's Book of Industrial Design. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans. p. 16. ^ Brown, Henry T. (1881). Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements: Embracing All Those which are Most Important in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneum atics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing, Presses, Horology, and Miscellaneo us Machinery; and Including Many Movements Never Before Published, and Several w hich Have Only Recently Come Into Use. Brown & Brown. pp. 40 41 section 152. ^ Carlson, B. C. (1995). "Computation of real or complex elliptic integrals". Nu merical Algorithms 10: 13 26. arXiv:math/9409227. doi:10.1007/BF02198293. ^ Ivory, J. (1798). "A new series for the rectification of the ellipsis". Trans. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 4: 177 190. ^ Bessel, F. W. (2010). "The calculation of longitude and latitude from geodesic measurements (1825)". Astron. Nachr. 331 (8): 852 861. arXiv:0908.1824. doi:10.10 02/asna.201011352. English translation of Astron. Nachr. 4, 241 254 (1825). ^ Chakerian, G. D. "A Distorted View of Geometry." Ch. 7 in Mathematical Plums ( R. Honsberger, editor). Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America, 197 9.

^ Larson, Ron; Hostetler, Robert P.; Falvo, David C. (2006). "Chapter 10". Preca lculus with Limits. Cengage Learning. p. 767. ISBN 0-618-66089-5. ^ Young, Cynthia Y. (2010). "Chapter 9". Precalculus. John Wiley and Sons. p. 83 1. ISBN 0-471-75684-9. ^ Lawrence, J. Dennis, A Catalog of Special Plane Curves, Dover Publ., 1972. ^ If the ellipse is illustrated as a meridional one for the earth, the tangentia l angle is equal to geodetic latitude, the angle \theta is the geocentric latitu de, and parametric angle t is a parametric (or reduced) latitude of auxiliary ci rcle ^ Ellipse at MathWorld, derived from formula (58) and (60) ^ clarifies problems with MathWorld formula (60) ^ Auxiliary circle and various ellipse formulas ^ Meeus, J. (1991). "Ch. 10: The Earth's Globe". Astronomical Algorithms. Willma nn-Bell. p. 78. ISBN 0-943396-35-2. ^ David Drew. "Elliptical Gears". [1] ^ Grant, George B. (1906). A treatise on gear wheels. Philadelphia Gear Works. p . 72. ^ http://www.rp-photonics.com/lamp_pumped_lasers.html ^ http://www.cymer.com/plasma_chamber_detail/ ^ Chamberlain, G. (February 1983). "A characterization of the distributions that imply mean Variance utility functions". Journal of Economic Theory 29 (1): 185 201. doi:10.1016/0022-0531(83)90129-1. ^ Owen, J.; Rabinovitch, R. (June 1983). "On the class of elliptical distributio ns and their applications to the theory of portfolio choice". Journal of Finance 38: 745 752. JSTOR 2328079. ^ Pitteway, M.L.V. (1967). "Algorithm for drawing ellipses or hyperbolae with a digital plotter". The Computer Journal 10 (3): 282 9. doi:10.1093/comjnl/10.3.282. ^ Van Aken, J.R. (September 1984). "An Efficient Ellipse-Drawing Algorithm". IEE E Computer Graphics and Applications 4 (9): 24 35. doi:10.1109/MCG.1984.275994. ^ Smith, L.B. (1971). "Drawing ellipses, hyperbolae or parabolae with a fixed nu mber of points". The Computer Journal 14 (1): 81 86. doi:10.1093/comjnl/14.1.81. ^ Seligman, Courtney (1993 2010). "Orbital Motions Ellipses and Other Conic Sectio ns". Online Astronomy eText. External links[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ellipses Video: How to draw Ellipse Apollonius' Derivation of the Ellipse at Convergence The Shape and History of The Ellipse in Washington, D.C. by Clark Kimberling Collection of animated ellipse demonstrations. Ellipse, axes, semi-axes, area, p erimeter, tangent, foci. Weisstein, Eric W., "Ellipse as hypotrochoid", MathWorld. Ivanov, A.B. (2001), "Ellipse", in Hazewinkel, Michiel, Encyclopedia of Mathemat ics, Springer, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4 Categories: Conic sectionsCurvesElementary shapes Navigation menu Create accountLog inArticleTalkReadEditView history Search Main page Contents Featured content Current events Random article Donate to Wikipedia Interaction Help About Wikipedia Community portal Recent changes Contact Wikipedia

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