orthogonal trajectory

noun

, Mathematics.

1. the locus of a point whose path cuts each curve of a family of curves at right angles.

Word History and Origins

Origin of orthogonal trajectory¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

It is easy to show that the orthogonal trajectory of the system of circles is another system of circles all passing through the sink and the source, and as a corollary of this fact, that the electric resistance of a circular disk of uniform thickness is the same between any two points taken anywhere on its circumference as sink and source.

From Project Gutenberg