Spheroidal Foci

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axis ratio (log scale)
Spheroids are the surfaces of revolution of ellipses: a prolate spheroid is obtained by rotating about the major axis, while an oblate spheroid is obtained by rotating about the minor axis. When both axes are equal the spheroid becomes a sphere. In the prolate case, the foci of the ellipse are invariant under the revolution, while in the oblate they give rise to a "focal circle". This Demonstration shows how the foci vary with the shape of the spheroid.

External Links

Spheroid (Wolfram MathWorld)

Permanent Citation

Peter Falloon
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​"Spheroidal Foci"​
​http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/SpheroidalFoci/​
​Wolfram Demonstrations Project​
​Published: March 7, 2011