conjugate axis

noun

, Geometry.

1. the axis of a hyperbola perpendicular to the transverse axis at a point equidistant from the foci.
2. the segment of this axis equal to one side of a rectangle that has its other side equal to the transverse axis and diagonals that are along the asymptotes of the hyperbola.

Word History and Origins

Origin of conjugate axis¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

The two axes of the ellipse are the major axis and the minor axis, and the two axes of the hyperbola are the transverse axis and the conjugate axis.

From Project Gutenberg

The resultant of the internal pressure and the surface-tension is equivalent to a tension along the axis, and the numerical value of this tension is equal to the force due to the action of this pressure on a circle whose diameter is equal to the conjugate axis of the ellipse.

From Project Gutenberg

When the conjugate axis of the hyperbola is made smaller and smaller, the nodoid approximates more and more to the series of spheres touching each other along the axis.

From Project Gutenberg

When the conjugate axis of the hyperbola increases without limit, the loops of the nodoid are crowded on one another, and each becomes more nearly a ring of circular section, without, however, ever 269 reaching this form.

From Project Gutenberg

The resultant of the internal pressure and the surface-tension is equivalent to a pressure along the axis equal to that due to a pressure p acting on a circle whose diameter is the conjugate axis of the hyperbola.

From Project Gutenberg