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