Conics Sections in the Real World
Conic Sections are figures that are formed by intersections on a right circular cone. A Conic Section can either be a porabola, an ellipse, a circle, or a hyperbola depending on the angle of the intersection throught the cone. Here we will observe real world examples of each conic sections man made and made naturally.
What are Conic Sections?
By: Zach M.
Hyperbolas
This is an example of a man made hyperbola in the real world that is not really known about by the common person. A hyperbola is formed from the two curved sides of a power plant cooling tower and this is a big influence to the world we live in today. The shape of a power plant is a hyperbola for a reason and that is because a cooling tower needs to be able to cool hot water coming from the plant and in order to do that, it needs a good updraft to help create the power that the plant does. The hyperbola shape creates that needed updraft and is used to help run the plant in conjunction with its other components that create the power we use everyday so without it, we may not be getting usable energy as easy as we are now or not as effectively.
This is both a man made example of a hyperbola in the real world and a naturally made example because of how it took a man made object to create the natural projection of light from an object. The shape of the light that is projected from the shape of the lamp classifies it as a hyperbola as it mimics the shape of a hyperbola like the ones we have been studying. This example is not generally a significant example to us but has the potenial to be useful depending on what this light formation may be used for. This formation of light can be useful in a number of ways, you just have to get creative. For example, if an artist wanted to make a piece using the patterns of light and shadows, that artist could definitley use something like this example to do so. And also, light in the shape of a hyperbola could be transfered to many different mediums that make the light appear as it does hear by perhaps changing the shape of the object projecting the light formation or something in the sense of that.
Conclusion
From doing this project and doing the research that I've done, I have expanded my knowledge of conics past the classroom into everyday life. I have learned more about conic sections in general and how they can be represented in many different forms in many different places. Above all else I have learned about conic expression and how conics influence the world we live in more than ever before with examples that were made by man and others that were made naturally.