Conic Sections
Slicing Conic Sections From Cones
The sliders , , and, controls the location and the tilt of the blue cutting plane. Adjust these values to cut different conic sections outlined in red.
Notice that depending on the angle of the cutting plane relative to the normal (grey) plane, different conic sections can be formed. If the cutting plane is parallel to the normal plane, a circle is formed. If the cutting plane is slightly tilted at an angle lower than the slant angle of the cone, an ellipse is formed. If the cutting angle matches the angle of the cone, you can see the outline of a parabola. Lastly, if the cutting angle is greater than the slant angle of the cone until the perpendicular position, a hyperbola is formed.