History of a Parabola
The Parabola
A parabola is a continuous curve that looks like an open bowl where the sides keep going up infinitely. One mathematical definition of a parabola is the set of points that are all the same distance from a fixed point called the focus and a line called the directrix. Another definition is that the parabola is a particular conic section. This means it is a curve you see if you slice through a cone. If you slice parallel to one side of the cone, then you see a parabola. A parabola is also the curve defined by the equation y = ax^2 + bx + c when the curve is symmetrical about the y-axis. A more general equation also exists for other situations.The Mathematician Menaechmus
The Greek mathematician Menaechmus (middle fourth century B.C.) is credited with discovering that the parabola is a conic section. He is also credited with using parabolas to solve the problem of finding a geometrical construction for the cubed root of two. Menaechmus was not able to solve this problem with the construction, but he did show that you can find the solution by intersecting two parabolic curves.Parabola Equation DerivationIn the above equation, “a” is the distance from the origin to the focus. Below is the derivation for the parabola equation. First, refer to the image given below.