Externet Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 Hello. It's been over 30 years since my days at the university and have trouble thinking... I believe a catenary reflector has a focal area -locus?- instead of a focus point as a parabolic reflector has. Is it a circle ? The intention is to place a pipe of the same section at the locus of a catenary reflector trough, to be insolated and boil water circulating in it. The center of the locus must be centered between the ends of the catenary. The catenary lenght is 4 feet. What would be the correct catenary span or depth? Thanks, Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt grime Posted February 12, 2005 Share Posted February 12, 2005 catenary means shaped like a cosh curve (hyperbolic trig function) It is the shape adopted by a freely hanging chain in uniform gravitational field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Externet Posted February 12, 2005 Author Share Posted February 12, 2005 Hi Matt. That has nothing to do with my question. What is the shape of the focus on a catenary reflector? It should not be a point. Is it a line, is it a circle, or...? Miguel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt grime Posted February 14, 2005 Share Posted February 14, 2005 apologies, then. can i suggest "wolfram locus points" and google? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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