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Foci, (the plural of focus), are a pair of points used in determining conic sections. They always fall on the major axis of symmetry of a conic. For example, in a circle, there is only one focus, the centerpoint. Every distance from the focus to any other point on the circle will be the same. In a parabola, the distance from any point of the parabola to the focus equals the distance from the centerpoint to the directrix. In a hyperbola, the difference of the distances between a point on the hyperbola and the focus points will be constant, and in an ellipse, the sum of the distances from any point on the ellipse to one of the foci is constant.
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What happens when you decrease the distance between two foci?
The answer depends on whether they are the foci of an ellipse or a hyperbola.
What happens when you increase the distance between two foci?
-- If they're the foci of a single optical system, then the result can't be stated in general.It depends on the curvatures and relative position of the lenses.-- If they're both the foci of the same ellipse, then the ellipse becomes more eccentric.That is, more squashed and less circular.-- If they're the foci of two parabolas, then there's no relationship between them, andnothing in particular depends on the distance between them.The answer depends on whether they are the foci of an ellipse or a hyperbola.
Can the foci's of and ellipse be outside the ellipse?
No.
How many foci does a hyperbola have?
2
What happen as foci of an ellipse get closer together?
The ellipse will become more circular until it becomes a circle when the two foci coincide.
