Ellipse, Hyperbola and Circle as Envelopes
In the app below you can explore how a single construction can create ellipses, hyperbolas and circles.
Place point where you want and start the animation, or move point along the circle of center and radius .
The position of relative to the circle determines the conic envelope:
- inside → ellipse with foci , and major semi-axis length
- coinciding with → circle with center and radius
- outside → hyperbola with foci and semi-axis length