Tangent to the Hyperbola

In conic section geometry, a straight line is known as the tangent to a hyperbola. If this straight line meets the hyperbola at precisely one it is known as the tangent to a hyperbola, and it is shown by the following diagram.


tangent-hyperbola

When the straight line cuts the hyperbola from two distinct points it is called the secant line, and the third case is that a given straight line neither touches nor cuts the hyperbola. The details of tangent and secant lines to the hyperbola will be discussed in later lectures.