The Catacaustic of a Hyperbola - Parallel Rays
- Author:
- Irina Boyadzhiev
- Topic:
- Hyperbola
A light source at infinite distance from the hyperbola produces parallel light rays (in yellow). The rays are reflected by the hyperbola. If the rays have more than one intersection point with the hyperbola, they are reflected at both points. The reflected rays and their continuations are shown in light blue.
Definition: The envelope of the reflected rays by the hyperbola is called the catacaustic of the hyperbola (also caustic).
- Drag the first slider - "numberRays" to change the number of light rays.
- Drag the second slider - " " to change the angle between the rays and the major axis of the hyperbola.
- To experiment with the catacaustic, select different values for the distance () from the center of the hyperbola to its foci, and for the distance () from the center of the hyperbola to the vertices of the hyperbola .