WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Negative Pedal Curves of an Ellipse

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a
b
pedal
origin
focus
The pedal curve of a curve
C
with respect to a point
P
is the curve whose points are the closest to
P
on the tangents of
C
. This Demonstration concerns the inverse of a pedal curve, sometimes called the negative pedal curve. The negative pedal of a curve
C
can be defined as a curve
C'
such that the pedal of
C
is
C'
. This Demonstration allows you to explore two sets of the negative pedal curves of an ellipse.