Spheroid - Equation

Equation

The equation of a tri-axial ellipsoid centred at the origin with semi-axes a,b, c aligned along the coordinate axes is

The equation of a spheroid with Oz as the symmetry axis is given by setting a=b:

The semi-axis a is the equatorial radius of the spheroid, and c is the distance from centre to pole along the symmetry axis. There are two possible cases:

  • c < a : oblate spheroid
  • c > a : prolate spheroid

The case of a=c reduces to a sphere.

Read more about this topic:  Spheroid

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