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The theory behind the parallelogram method can be found from the diagram
at the right. The point P on the ellipse is the intersection of lines AB and CD.
s is a parameter that runs from 0 to 1 as P goes from the end of the minor
axis to the end of the major axis. Line AB has the equation y = b - sbx/a,
while line CD has the equation x = sa(b + y)/b. Eliminating s between these
two equations, we find quite readily that x2/a2 + y2/b2 = 1, which is the
equation of an ellipse with semimajor axis a and semiminor axis b.
If you have the major minor axes of an ellipse, it is easy to find the foci by
swinging an arc of radius equal to the semimajor axis from the end of a
minor axis. This arc will cut the major axis at the focal points. Conversely,
if you know the foci and the major axis, the intersection of arcs drawn from
the foci with radius equal to the semimajor axis will determine the ends of
the minor axis.
The above methods all make accurate ellipses. It is much more convenient to
represent an ellipse by circular arcs that can be drawn with a compass than to
connect points laboriously determined. The simplest case is shown in the
figure at the left, called a three-center arch. To a draftsman, it is a "four-center
ellipse." The centers are the symmetrically-placed D, C, D' and C'. On the line
AB joining the ends of the major and minor axes, lay off distance BM = a - b,
the difference in the semiaxes. Now draw the perpendicular bisector of the
remainder AM, the line L, which determines the centers D and C, as well as the
point G where the two arcs meet. Now the symmetrical points D' and C' can be
laid out. Arcs of radii DG and CG are then drawn to complete the arch or
ellipse. This method is excellent for representing ellipses on drawings, but may
be a little crude for an actual arch, where the approximation may give an
uneasy feeling. It would probably be better in any case to calculate an exact
ellipse and lay it out by coordinates for the actual structure, while the threecentered approximate ellipse will always do for a drawing.
The fact that the tangent is perpendicular to the bisector of the angle between
the focal radii at P is not difficult to prove. In the figure at the right, the
neighborhood of a point A on the ellipse is shown. Suppose B is a neighboring
point, so close that the directions to F and F' are not sensibly changed. For B to
be a neighboring point on the ellipse, the sum of the focal radii must remain
unchanged (and equal to the major axis). In the direction shown, it is clear that
the lengthening BC of the focal radius to F' is equal to the shortening AD of the
focal radius to F, so that their sum remains constant, and B is also a point on
the ellipse, or, in this approximation, on the tangent from A. The tangent, of
course, is the limit of the chord through BA as B approaches A.
The method for drawing a tangent from an external point P to an ellipse is shown
at the right. First, draw a circle with centre at P and radius PF. The intersection of
this circle with an arc of a radius equal to the major axis (2a) is point E. Point R is
the intersection of radius F'E and the ellipse. In the triangles PER and PFR,
corresponding sides are equal, since FR + RF' = 2a = ER + RF', or FR = ER. PE
and PF are equal by construction, while the side PR is common. Therefore, PR
bisects the external angle and is thus the tangent. A similar construction gives
the other tangent from point P.
The line PR also bisects the line FE. In the diagram, the triangles do not appear
exactly congruent because the foci are not accurately located. If you make a
careful drawing, the triangles will be congruent, and PR will be an accurate
perpendicular bisector of FE. Since FE is perpendicular to the tangent, if we want
a tangent with a certain direction (and there is no point P given), a line is drawn
in the perpendicular direction from F, and E is the intersection with an arc of
length 2a from F. Now EF is bisected, and the perpendicular bisector is the
desired tangent. We can now find tangents at a point on the ellipse, from an
external point, and in a certain direction.
If the focal points F and F' approach one another, direction of the tangent is more
and more restricted. In the limit as the ellipse becomes a circle, F = F', and the
tangent will be perpendicular to the radius, as we know from Euclid.
The drawing utilities in Windows draw an ellipse in a circumscribed rectangle,
which made preparing the graphics for this page quite easy, compared with the
effort required for parabolas and hyperbolas, which are not easy to draw with the
Windows routines. It is annoying not to be able to draw a circle from center and
radius, as in real drafting programs, but this can be worked around by putting the
center of a square of side equal to the diameter at the desired center point. If the
Shift key is held down in a graphics program, it is only necessary to move the
cursor along one diameter to get a circle, which makes it a little easier. A
template of three small crosses can be constructed and copied to wherever a
circle is desired if you are drawing a number of circles of the same diameter. One
cross is the center, the other two the ends of a horizontal line equal to the
diameter.