All possible positions of a point or curve satisfying stated conditions.
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EMISSION SPECTROMETER
Works on the basis that atoms of metallic and other particular elements emit light at characteristic wavelengths when they are excited in a flame, arc, or spark. Excited light is directed through an entrance slit in the spectrometer. This light penetrates the slit, falls on a grate, and is dispersed and reflected. The spectrometer is calibrated by a series of standard samples containing known amounts of the elements of interest. By exciting these standard samples, an analytical curve can be established which gives the relationship between the light intensity and its concentration in the fluid.
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HYPERBOLA
An open curve with two parts, all points of which have a constant difference in distance from two fixed points called FOCI.
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CUTWATER
The forward curve of the stem of a ship
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ASYMPTOTE
A straight line or curve which a curve of infinite length approaches but never quite reaches
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CENTER LINE
1. The locus of points equidistant from two reference points or lines. 2. (Usually centerline) The line separating the port and starboard sides of a vessel, center of buoyancy. The geometric center of the immersed portion of the hull and appendages of a floating vessel All buoyant forces may be resolved into one result- ant force acting upwards at this point.
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CATENARY
The curve formed by a uniform cable supported only at its ends. Navigators are concerned with the catenary of overhead cables which determines clearance underneath, and the catenary of the anchor rode, which in part determines holding power and swing circle.
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CIRCUMFERENCE
1. The boundary line of a circle or other closed plane curve or the outer limits of a sphere or other round body. 2. The length of the boundary line of a circle or closed plane curve or of the outer limits of a sphere or other rounded body. The circumference of a sphere is the circumference of any great circle on the sphere.
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CIRCLE
1. A plane closed curve all points of which are equidistant from a point within, called the center. A great circle is the intersection of a sphere and a plane through its center; it is the largest circle that can be drawn on a sphere. A small circle is the intersection of a sphere and a plane which does not pass through its center. See also PARALLEL OF ALTITUDE, PARALLEL OF DECLINATION, PARALLEL OF LATITUDE; AZIMUTH CIRCLE, BEARING CIRCLE, DIURNAL CIRCLE, EQUATOR, HOUR CIRCLE, PARASELENIC CIRCLES, POSITION CIRCLE, SPEED CIRCLE, VERTICAL CIRCLE. 2. A section of a plane, bounded by a curve all points of which are equidistant from a point within, called the center.
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CONE
1. A solid having a plane base bounded by a closed curve and a surface formed by lines from every point on the circumference of the base to a common point or APEX. 2. A surface generated by a straight line of indefinite length, one point of which is fixed and another point of which follows a fixed curve. Also called a CONICAL SURFACE.
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CONIC SECTION
Any plane curve which is the locus of a point which moves so that the ratio of its distance from a fixed point to its distance from a fixed line is constant. The ratio is called the eccentricity; the fixed point is the focus; the fixed line is the directrix. When the eccentricity is equal to unity, the conic section is a parabola; when less than unity an ellipse; and when greater than unity, a hyperbola. They are so called because they are formed by the intersection of a plane and a right circular cone.
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