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Angle of Parallelism


AngleOfParallelism

Given a point P and a line AB, draw the perpendicular through P and call it PC. Let PD be any other line from P which meets CB in D. In a hyperbolic geometry, as D moves off to infinity along CB, then the line PD approaches the limiting line PE, which is said to be parallel to CB at P. The angle ∠CPE which PE makes with PC is then called the angle of parallelism for perpendicular distance x, and is given by

 Pi(x)=2tan^(-1)(e^(-x)).

This is known as Lobachevsky's formula.


See also

Hyperbolic Geometry, Lobachevsky's Formula

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References

Coxeter, H. S. M. "The Angle of Parallelism." §16.3 in Introduction to Geometry, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, pp. 291-295, 1969.Manning, H. P. Introductory Non-Euclidean Geometry. New York: Dover, pp. 31-32 and 58, 1963.

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Angle of Parallelism

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Angle of Parallelism." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/AngleofParallelism.html

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