Astrophysics (Index)About

paraboloid

(circularly-symmetric 3D surface based on parabola)

A paraboloid is a type of curved surface (within three-dimensional space) that is based upon a parabola; specifically, it is circularly-symmetric such that an intersection with any plane through its axis is a parabola. A hyperboloid is the analogous surface based upon a hyperbola. Finite portions of these curved surfaces are used for the mirrors of some types of reflector telescopes: various combinations of such mirrors can reduce the aberrations that occur using spherical mirrors. There is a trade-off because they are generally harder to manufacture than spherical mirrors and they introduce other aberrations. These shapes are examples of quadratic surfaces, as are spheroids and ellipsoids.


(mathematics)
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraboloid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperboloid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadric
https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Paraboloid.html
https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Astronomy__Cosmology/Celestial_Mechanics_(Tatum)/04%3A_Coordinate_Geometry_in_Three_Dimensions/4.04%3A_The_Paraboloid

Referenced by pages:
Cassegrain reflector
focal length
Gregorian telescope
Herschelian telescope
off-axis telescope
spherical aberration
spheroid

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