Focus on the Conics

Photo courtesy of: http://www.en.widipedia.org/wiki/

All conics may be viewed as planar sections of a right circular cone, meaning that each is a curve formed by the intersection of a plane with either a single or a double right circular cone.

These two-dimensional planar curves are defined by their restricted relationships involving the distances from points on the curve to their focal points. It is precisely this rigidity which enables these curved forms to be applied in many real world applications: from the design of the lenses of microscopes and telescopes, to medical procedures for treating kidney stones (lithotripsy), to predicting the paths of satellites in space, to the construction of roller coasters, billiard tables and awe-inspiring architectural forms throughout the world.

If the study of conics seems to be a bit of an anachronism in our fast-forward digitalized world of the twenty-first century, think again and read on.

Last Updated by SAS October 07, 2026, 16:00:42