Cone - Further Terminology

Further Terminology

The perimeter of the base of a cone is called the 'directrix', and each of the line segments between the directrix and apex is a 'generatrix' of the lateral surface. (For the connection between this sense of the term "directrix" and the directrix of a conic section, see Dandelin spheres.)

The 'base radius' of a circular cone is the radius of its base; often this is simply called the radius of the cone. The aperture of a right circular cone is the maximum angle between two generatrix lines; if the generatrix makes an angle θ to the axis, the aperture is 2θ.

A cone with its apex cut off by a plane is called a "truncated cone"; if the truncation plane is parallel to the cone's base, it is called a frustum. An 'elliptical cone' is a cone with an elliptical base. A 'generalized cone' is the surface created by the set of lines passing through a vertex and every point on a boundary (also see visual hull).

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