Circle - Circle As Limiting Case of Other Figures

Circle As Limiting Case of Other Figures

The circle can be viewed as a limiting case of each of various other figures:

  • A Cartesian oval is a set of points such that a weighted sum of the distances from any of its points to two fixed points (foci) is a constant. An ellipse is the case in which the weights are equal. A circle is an ellipse with an eccentricity of zero, meaning that the two foci coincide with each other as the centre of the circle. A circle is also a different special case of a Cartesian oval in which one of the weights is zero.
  • A superellipse has an equation of the form for positive a, b, and n. A supercircle has b = a. A circle is the special case of a supercircle in which n = 2.
  • A Cassini oval is a set of points such that the product of the distances from any of its points to two fixed points is a constant. When the two fixed points coincide, a circle results.
  • A curve of constant width is a figure whose width, defined as the perpendicular distance between two distinct parallel lines each intersecting its boundary in a single point, is the same regardless of the direction of those two parallel lines. The circle is the simplest example of this type of figure.

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