Related Concepts
A bitangent differs from a secant line in that a secant line may cross the curve at the two points it intersects it. One can also consider bitangents that are not lines; for instance, the symmetry set of a curve is the locus of centers of circles that are tangent to the curve in two points.
Bitangents to pairs of circles figure prominently in Jakob Steiner's 1826 construction of the malfatti circles and in the belt problem of calculating the length of a belt connecting two pulleys.
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