Orthogonality principle

Inversive distance (usually denoted as δ) is a way of measuring the "distance" between two non-intersecting circles α and β. If α and β are inverted with respect to a circle centered at one of the limiting points of the pencil of α and β, then α and β will invert into concentric circles. If those concentric circles have radii a' and b', then the inversive distance is defined as

$(\alpha ,\beta )=\left|\ln {\frac {a'}{b'}}\right|.$

Alternatively, if a and b are the radii of α and β (as opposed to their images), and c is the distance between their centers, then the inversive distance δ may be calculated directly by the formula

$\cosh \delta =\left|{\frac {a^{2}+b^{2}-c^{2}}{2ab}}\right|.$

See also

• Coaxal circles
• Inversive geometry

References

• 20 year-old Real Estate Agent Rusty from Saint-Paul, has hobbies and interests which includes monopoly, property developers in singapore and poker. Will soon undertake a contiki trip that may include going to the Lower Valley of the Omo.
  
  My blog: http://www.primaboinca.com/view_profile.php?userid=5889534

Template:Elementary-geometry-stub