What is the distance of the tangent between two circles

In summary, the distance of the tangent between two circles is equal to the radius of one circle plus the radius of the other circle. This is based on the concept of tangency, where a tangent line touches a circle at exactly one point. The distance between the centers of the two circles can also be used to calculate the distance of the tangent. This distance is important in geometry and can be applied in real-world situations such as determining the minimum distance between two objects.
  • #1
poioip
10
0

Attachments

  • Straight_Belt_pully_diagram.GIF
    Straight_Belt_pully_diagram.GIF
    13.8 KB · Views: 540
  • 71a0a799a38ea53769d113a9174fd9b4.png
    71a0a799a38ea53769d113a9174fd9b4.png
    1.2 KB · Views: 445
  • fe0509488d50977fbbe52669b11c2d29.png
    fe0509488d50977fbbe52669b11c2d29.png
    870 bytes · Views: 426
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Did you make an attempt at the problem?
 
  • #3
The drawing is a bit misleading. The radii drawn to the tangent point in both circles are perpendicular to the same tangent line, so they must be parallel. Do you know how to draw the common tangent to two circles? You shrink both circles till the smaller one becomes a point, then the problem reduces to find the length of the tangent line drawn from the centre of the smaller circle.

ehild
 

Attachments

  • twocircles.JPG
    twocircles.JPG
    9 KB · Views: 389
  • #4
so if both circles have the same radius then the distance between the radaii is the length of the tangent right?
 
  • #5
and also let's say i have multiple points refer the pic
and the points are
x y
1 4
3 2
7 9
5 4
9 5
6 7
9 1
11 8

the radius is 1 unit

i did a convex hull algorithm and found the perimeter and added the arc length. since it is a 5 sided polygon the interior angles are 540 degrees

the total perimeter is 25.20983226924521 units and with the arc (9.4247779607694 units) its equal to 34.63461023001461 units but the actual solution was 34.408 units (rounded).
so what am i doing wrong?

u can find this at http://wcipeg.com/problem/boi09p1
 

Attachments

  • boi09p1.png
    boi09p1.png
    4.5 KB · Views: 487
Last edited:
  • #6
BloodyFrozen said:
Did you make an attempt at the problem?
yes i did look above ^^
 
  • #7
I don't know anything about your convex hull algorithm. But the total of the arcs is just the circumference of one mine isn't it? If the radius is 1, isn't that just ##2\pi##? How are you getting 9.424...?
 
  • #8
LCKurtz said:
I don't know anything about your convex hull algorithm. But the total of the arcs is just the circumference of one mine isn't it? If the radius is 1, isn't that just ##2\pi##? How are you getting 9.424...?

in the picture there are 5 mines that stick out. so the internal angles is 540 degrees so the length of the arc. rather than 360 degrees this is 540 degrees that's how i got ~ 9.424
 
  • #9
LCKurtz said:
I don't know anything about your convex hull algorithm. But the total of the arcs is just the circumference of one mine isn't it? If the radius is 1, isn't that just ##2\pi##? How are you getting 9.424...?

poioip said:
in the picture there are 5 mines that stick out. so the internal angles is 540 degrees so the length of the arc. rather than 360 degrees this is 540 degrees that's how i got ~ 9.424

I think you should give that some more thought.
 
  • #10
LCKurtz said:
I think you should give that some more thought.

i do not understand what's wrong
so if i draw tangents on the outside it will join and form a pentagon and the internal angles are 540. so what am i doing wrong? please help me!
 
  • #11
poioip said:
i do not understand what's wrong
so if i draw tangents on the outside it will join and form a pentagon and the internal angles are 540. so what am i doing wrong? please help me!

The internal angles don't have anything to do with the arcs. Look at just the arcs and imagine putting them together ignoring the straight sections.
 
  • #12
i see it forms a single circle!

if the perimeter is (25.20983226924521) + 2*3.1415926535897932384626433832795 is
31.493017576424796476925286766559 not even close to 34.408
 
  • #13
poioip said:
i see it forms a single circle!

if the perimeter is (25.20983226924521) + 2*3.1415926535897932384626433832795 is
31.493017576424796476925286766559 not even close to 34.408

What I would do if I were you is work the sample problem out manually without using your convex hull algorithm. Plot the points calculate the convex hull distances directly. That way you will have a check on whether your answer or their answer is correct. And if it turns out theirs is, it's time to turn your attention to your convex hull algorithm. Good luck with it.
 
  • #14
LCKurtz said:
What I would do if I were you is work the sample problem out manually without using your convex hull algorithm. Plot the points calculate the convex hull distances directly. That way you will have a check on whether your answer or their answer is correct. And if it turns out theirs is, it's time to turn your attention to your convex hull algorithm. Good luck with it.

i did check it manually and i was wrong.the algorithm is just to identify the points that stick out!
 
  • #15
solved... arcs form one complete circle... ty
 
  • #16
I get the perimeter ≈ 28.12465 + 2πR ≈ 34.40784
 
  • #17
Whether COSINE^4(x) is a periodic function or not ?
 

1. What is the definition of "tangent" in the context of circles?

The tangent of a circle is a line that touches the circle at exactly one point, known as the point of tangency. It is perpendicular to the radius of the circle at that point.

2. How is the distance of the tangent between two circles calculated?

The distance of the tangent between two circles can be calculated by finding the distance between the centers of the circles and subtracting the sum of the radii of the two circles. This will give the shortest distance between the two circles, which is the length of the tangent line.

3. Can the distance of the tangent between two circles be negative?

No, the distance of the tangent between two circles cannot be negative. It is always a positive value representing the shortest distance between the two circles.

4. How does the distance of the tangent change if the circles have different radii?

If the circles have different radii, the distance of the tangent will also vary. It will be shorter when the smaller circle is inside the larger one and longer when the smaller circle is outside the larger one. When the circles are tangent internally or externally, the distance of the tangent will be equal to the difference or sum of the radii, respectively.

5. Is there a relationship between the distance of the tangent and the angle between the two circles?

Yes, there is a relationship between the distance of the tangent and the angle between the two circles. As the angle between the circles increases, the distance of the tangent also increases. This relationship can be described by the formula: distance of tangent = (radius1 + radius2) * sin(angle/2)

Similar threads

  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
15
Views
4K
  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • General Math
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
9
Views
3K
  • Calculus and Beyond Homework Help
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • General Engineering
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • Special and General Relativity
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
2
Views
1K
Replies
6
Views
2K
Back
Top