radical axis

American  

noun

Geometry.

1. the line such that tangents drawn from any point of the line to two given circles are equal in length.

---

radical axis British  

noun

1. a line from any point of which tangents to two given circles are of equal length. It is the line joining the points of intersection of two circles

---

Etymology

Origin of radical axis

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

There are several methods of constructing the radical axis in this case.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4 "Cincinnatus" to "Cleruchy" by Various

The intersections which lie on the radical axis are two out of the four intersections of the two circles.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various

And by this very theorem, given two circles with imaginary intersections, we can, by drawing circles which meet each of them in real points, construct the radical axis of the first-mentioned two circles.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various

Sad is it for the State when this force is called into play, and the radical axis is a standing menace to the stability of States and nations.

From The Romance of Mathematics Being the Original Researches of a Lady Professor of Girtham College in Polemical Science, with some Account of the Social Properties of a Conic; Equations to Brain Waves; Social Forces; and the Laws of Political Motion. by Hampson, P.

Therefore we may conclude that the radical axis indicates a tendency of particles, or individuals, to fly off at a tangent, at right angles to the connecting-link between the individual and the king.

From The Romance of Mathematics Being the Original Researches of a Lady Professor of Girtham College in Polemical Science, with some Account of the Social Properties of a Conic; Equations to Brain Waves; Social Forces; and the Laws of Political Motion. by Hampson, P.