ellipse

ellipse
/i lips"/, n. Geom.
a plane curve such that the sums of the distances of each point in its periphery from two fixed points, the foci, are equal. It is a conic section formed by the intersection of a right circular cone by a plane that cuts the axis and the surface of the cone. Typical equation: (x2/a2) + (y2/b2) = 1. If a = b the ellipse is a circle. See diag. under conic section.
[1745-55; < F < L ellipsis ELLIPSIS; or by back formation from the pl. ELLIPSES]

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Closed curve, one of the conic sections of analytic geometry, consisting of all points whose distances from each of two fixed points (foci) add up to the same value.

The midpoint between the foci is the center. One property of an ellipse is that the reflection off its boundary of a line from one focus will pass through the other. In an elliptical room, a person whispering at one focus is easily heard by someone at the other. An oval may or may not fit the definition of an ellipse.

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      a closed curve, the intersection of a right circular cone (see cone) and a plane that is not parallel to the base, the axis, or an element of the cone. It may be defined as the path of a point moving in a plane so that the ratio of its distances from a fixed point (the focus) and a fixed straight line (the directrix) is a constant less than one. Any such path has this same property with respect to a second fixed point and a second fixed line, and ellipses often are regarded as having two foci and two directrixes. The ratio of distances, called the eccentricity, is the discriminant (q.v.; of a general equation that represents all the conic sections [see conic section]). Another definition of an ellipse is that it is the locus of points for which the sum of their distances from two fixed points (the foci) is constant. The smaller the distance between the foci, the smaller is the eccentricity and the more closely the ellipse resembles a circle.

      A straight line drawn through the foci and extended to the curve in either direction is the major diameter (or major axis) of the ellipse. Perpendicular to the major axis through the centre, at the point on the major axis equidistant from the foci, is the minor axis. A line drawn through either focus parallel to the minor axis is a latus rectum (literally, “straight side”).

      The ellipse is symmetrical about both its axes. The curve when rotated about either axis forms the surface called the ellipsoid (q.v.) of revolution, or a spheroid.

      The path of a heavenly body moving around another in a closed orbit in accordance with Newton's gravitational law is an ellipse (see Kepler's laws of planetary motion). In the solar system one focus of such a path about the Sun is the Sun itself.

      For an ellipse the centre of which is at the origin and the axes of which are coincident with the x and y axes, the equation is x2/a2 + y2/b2 = 1. The length of the major diameter is 2a; the length of the minor diameter is 2b. If c is taken as the distance from the origin to the focus, then c2 = a2 - b2, and the foci of the curve may be located when the major and minor diameters are known. The problem of finding an exact expression for the perimeter of an ellipse led to the development of elliptic functions, an important topic in mathematics and physics.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Ellipse — geometrisch Die Saturnringe erscheinen elliptisch …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ellipse — (v. gr.), 1) Gramm.), Auslassung eines, zur Vollständigkeit eines Satzes nothwendigen, jedoch durch den Zusammenhang leicht zu ergänzenden Redetheiles. Die E. findet meist in, durch den Sprachgebrauch üblich gewordenen Redensarten, bes. in… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • ellipse — ELLIPSE. s. fém. Terme de Grammaire. Retranchement d un ou de plusieurs mots, qui seroient nécessaires pour la régularité de la construction, mais que l usage permet de supprimer. Quand on dit, la Saint Jean, pour dire, la fête de Saint Jean, c… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • Ellipse — El*lipse ([e^]l*l[i^]ps ), n. [Gr. e lleipsis, prop., a defect, the inclination of the ellipse to the base of the cone being in defect when compared with that of the side to the base: cf. F. ellipse. See {Ellipsis}.] 1. (Geom.) An oval or oblong… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ellipse — Sf ein Kegelschnitt ; Auslassung erw. fach. (17. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. ellīpsis, dieses aus gr. élleipsis, eigentlich Mangel, das Auslassen , einer Ableitung von gr. elleípein unterlassen, auslassen , zu gr. leípein lassen . Es wird… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Ellipse — Ellipse. Diejenige krumme Linie, welche man im gemeinen Leben mit dem Namen Eirund bezeichnet, wiewohl dieses falsch ist, weil das Eirund an einer Seite schmäler ist als an der andern, während die Ellipse an beiden Seiten auf völlig gleiche Weise …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • ellipse — (n.) 1753, from Fr. ellipse (17c.), from L. ellipsis ellipse, also, a falling short, deficit, from Gk. elleipsis (see ELLIPSIS (Cf. ellipsis)). So called because the conic section of the cutting plane makes a smaller angle with the base than does …   Etymology dictionary

  • Ellipse — (griech.), in der Grammatik Auslassung eines zur Vollständigkeit der Rede notwendigen, aber durch den grammatischen Zusammenhang leicht zu ergänzenden Satzteils, bildet sich leicht beim erregten Redner, wird aber auch in schriftlichen… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ellipse — Ellipse: Zu griech. leípein »‹zurück›lassen«, das zur idg. Sippe von dt. ↑ leihen gehört, stellt sich die Bildung el leípein »darin zurücklassen; zurückstehen; mangeln, fehlen«. Das davon abgeleitete Substantiv griech. élleipsis »Mangel« wurde im …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

  • ellipse — [e lips′, ilips′] n. pl. ellipses [e lip′sēz΄, i lip′sēz΄] [ModL ellipsis < Gr elleipsis, a defect, ellipse < elleipein, to fall short < en , in + leipein, to leave (see LOAN): so named from falling short of a perfect circle] Geom. the… …   English World dictionary

  • Ellipse — Ellipse, s. Kegelschnitte …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

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