CIRCLE

A circle is a simple shape of Euclidean geometry consisting of those points in a plane which are
equidistant from a given point called the center. The common distance of the points of a circle
from its center is called its radius.

Circles are simple closed curves which divide the plane into two regions, an interior and an
exterior. In everyday use, the term "circle" may be used interchangeably to refer to either the
boundary of the figure (also known as the perimeter) or to the whole figure including its
interior. However, in strict technical usage, "circle" refers to the perimeter while the interior of
the circle is called a disk. The circumference of a circle is the perimeter of the circle (especially
when referring to its length).

A circle is a special ellipse in which the two foci are coincident. Circles are conic sections
attained when a right circular cone is intersected with a plane perpendicular to the axis of the
cone.

Circle illustration showing a radius, a diameter, the center and the circumference.

Tycho crater, one of many examples of circles that arise in nature.

Futher Terminology
The diameter of a circle is the length of a line segment whose endpoints lie on the circle and
which passes through the centre of the circle. This is the largest distance between any two points
on the circle. The diameter of a circle is twice its radius.

As well as referring to lengths, the terms "radius" and "diameter" can also refer to actual line
segments (respectively, a line segment from the centre of a circle to its perimeter, and a line
segment between two points on the perimeter passing through the centre). In this sense, the
midpoint of a diameter is the centre and so it is composed of two radii.

A chord of a circle is a line segment whose two endpoints lie on the circle. The diameter,
passing through the circle's centre, is the longest chord in a circle. A tangent to a circle is a
straight line that touches the circle at a single point. A secant is an extended chord: a straight line
cutting the circle at two points.

An arc of a circle is any connected part of the circle's circumference. A sector is a region
bounded by two radii and an arc lying between the radii, and a segment is a region bounded by a
chord and an arc lying between the chord's endpoints.

Chord, secant, tangent, and diameter. Arc, sector, and segment.

HISTORY
The circle has been known since before the beginning of recorded history. It is the basis for the
wheel, which, with related inventions such as gears, makes much of modern civilization
possible. In mathematics, the study of the circle has helped inspire the development of geometry
and calculus.

Early science, particularly geometry and astrology and astronomy, was connected to the divine
for most medieval scholars, and many believed that there was something intrinsically "divine"
or "perfect" that could be found in circles.

Some highlights in the history of the circle are:

 1700 BC – The Rhind papyrus gives a method to find the area of a circular field. The
result corresponds to 256/81 (3.16049...) as an approximate value of π.
 300 BC – Book 3 of Euclid's Elements deals with the properties of circles.
 1880 – Lindemann proves that π is transcendental, effectively settling the millennia-old
problem of squaring the circle.

The compass in this 13th century manuscript is a symbol of God's act of Creation.
 Analytic Results
Length of circumference

The ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter is π (pi), a constant that takes the same
value (approximately 3.141592654) for all circles. Thus the length of the circumference (c) is
related to the radius (r) by

or equivalently to the diameter (d) by

Area enclosed

Area of the circle = π × area of the shaded square

The area enclosed by a circle is π multiplied by the radius squared:

Equivalently, denoting diameter by d,

that is, approximately 79% of the circumscribing square (whose side is of length d).

The circle is the plane curve enclosing the maximum area for a given arc length. This relates the
circle to a problem in the calculus of variations, namely the isoperimetric inequality.
Equations

Circle of radius r = 1, center (a, b) = (1.2, -0.5)

In an x-y Cartesian coordinate system, the circle with center (a, b) and radius r is the set of all
points (x, y) such that

This equation of the circle follows from the Pythagorean theorem applied to any point on the
circle: as shown in the diagram to the right, the radius is the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle
whose other sides are of length x − a and y − b. If the circle is centered at the origin (0, 0), then
the equation simplifies to

The equation can be written in parametric form using the trigonometric functions sine and
cosine as

where t is a parametric variable, interpreted geometrically as the angle that the ray from the
origin to (x, y) makes with the x-axis. Alternatively, a rational parametrization of the circle is:
In homogeneous coordinates each conic section with equation of a circle is of the form

It can be proven that a conic section is a circle if and only if the point I(1: i: 0) and J(1: −i: 0) lie
on the conic section. These points are called the circular points at infinity.

Polar coordinates

In polar coordinates the equation of a circle is:

where a is the radius of the circle, r0 is the distance from the origin to the centre of the circle, and
φ is the anticlockwise angle from the positive x-axis to the line connecting the origin to the
centre of the circle. For a circle centred at the origin, i.e. r0 = 0, this reduces to simply r = a.
When r0 = a, or when the origin lies on the circle, the equation becomes

In the general case, the equation can be solved for r, giving

the solution with a minus sign in front of the square root giving the same curve.

Complex plane

In the complex plane, a circle with a center at c and radius (r) has the equation .
In parametric form this can be written z = reit + c.

The slightly generalized equation for real p, q and complex g is

sometimes called a generalised circle. This becomes the above equation for a circle with
, since . Not all
generalised circles are actually circles: a generalized circle is either a (true) circle or a line.
Tangent lines

The tangent line through a point P on the circle is perpendicular to the diameter passing through
P. If P = (x1, y1) and the circle has center (a, b) and radius r, then the tangent line is perpendicular
to the line from (a, b) to (x1, y1), so it has the form (x1−a)x+(y1−b)y = c. Evaluating at (x1, y1)
determines the value of c and the result is that the equation of the tangent is

(x1 − a)x + (y1 − b)y = (x1 − a)x1 + (y1 − b)y1

or

(x1 − a)(x − a) + (y1 − b)(y − b) = r2.

If y1≠b then slope of this line is

This can also be found using implicit differentiation.

When the center of the circle is at the origin then the equation of the tangent line becomes

x1x + y1y = r2,

and its slope is

Tangent

 The line drawn perpendicular to a radius through the end point of the radius is a tangent
to the circle.
 A line drawn perpendicular to a tangent through the point of contact with a circle passes
through the center of the circle.
 Two tangents can always be drawn to a circle from any point outside the circle, and these
tangents are equal in length.
Sagitta

 The sagitta (also known as the versine) is a line segment drawn perpendicular to a chord,
between the midpoint of that chord and the circumference of the circle.
 Given the length y of a chord, and the length x of the sagitta, the Pythagorean theorem
can be used to calculate the radius of the unique circle which will fit around the two lines:

Another proof of this result which relies only on two chord properties given above is as follows.
Given a chord of length y and with sagitta of length x, since the sagitta intersects the midpoint of
the chord, we know it is part of a diameter of the circle. Since the diameter is twice the radius,
the “missing” part of the diameter is (2r − x) in length. Using the fact that one part of one chord
times the other part is equal to the same product taken along a chord intersecting the first chord,
we find that (2r − x)x = (y/2)². Solving for r, we find the required result.

Chords

 Chords are equidistant from the center of a circle if and only if they are equal in length.
 The perpendicular bisector of a chord passes through the center of a circle; equivalent
statements stemming from the uniqueness of the perpendicular bisector:
o A perpendicular line from the center of a circle bisects the chord.
o The line segment (circular segment) through the center bisecting a chord is
perpendicular to the chord.
 If a central angle and an inscribed angle of a circle are subtended by the same chord and
on the same side of the chord, then the central angle is twice the inscribed angle.
 If two angles are inscribed on the same chord and on the same side of the chord, then
they are equal.
 If two angles are inscribed on the same chord and on opposite sides of the chord, then
they are supplemental.
o For a cyclic quadrilateral, the exterior angle is equal to the interior opposite angle.
 An inscribed angle subtended by a diameter is a right angle (see Thales' theorem).
 The diameter is the longest chord of the circle.
Theorems

Secant-secant theorem

 The chord theorem states that if two chords, CD and EB, intersect at A, then CA×DA =
EA×BA.
 If a tangent from an external point D meets the circle at C and a secant from the external
point D meets the circle at G and E respectively, then DC2 = DG×DE. (Tangent-secant
theorem.)
 If two secants, DG and DE, also cut the circle at H and F respectively, then DH×DG =
DF×DE. (Corollary of the tangent-secant theorem.)
 The angle between a tangent and chord is equal to one half the subtended angle on the
opposite side of the chord (Tangent Chord Angle).
 If the angle subtended by the chord at the center is 90 degrees then l = √2 × r, where l is
the length of the chord and r is the radius of the circle.
 If two secants are inscribed in the circle as shown at right, then the measurement of angle
A is equal to one half the difference of the measurements of the enclosed arcs (DE and
BC). This is the secant-secant theorem.
Inscribed angles

 Inscribed angle theorem

 An inscribed angle (examples are the blue and green angles in the figure) is exactly half
the corresponding central angle (red). Hence, all inscribed angles that subtend the same
arc (pink) are equal. Angles inscribed on the arc (brown) are supplementary. In particular,
every inscribed angle that subtends a diameter is a right angle (since the central angle is
180 degrees).

Apollonius circle

Apollonius of Perga showed that a circle may also be defined as the set of points in a plane
having a constant ratio (other than 1) of distances to two fixed foci, A and B. (The set of points
where the distances are equal is the perpendicular bisector of A and B, a line.) That circle is
sometimes said to be drawn about two points.The proof is as follows. A line segment PC bisects
the interior angle APB, since the segments are similar:

Analogously, a line segment PD bisects the corresponding exterior angle. Since the interior and
exterior angles sum to , the angle CPD is exactly , i.e., a right angle. The set of points P
that form a right angle with a given line segment CD form a circle, of which CD is the diameter.

Cross-ratios
A closely related property of circles involves the geometry of the cross-ratio of points in the
complex plane. If A, B, and C are as above, then the Apollonius circle for these three points is
the collection of points P for which the absolute value of the cross-ratio is equal to one:

Stated another way, P is a point on the Apollonius circle if and only if the cross-ratio [A,B;C,P]
is on the unit circle in the complex plane.

Generalized circles

If C is the midpoint of the segment AB, then the collection of points P satisfying the Apollonius
condition

   (1)

is not a circle, but rather a line.

Thus, if A, B, and C are given distinct points in the plane, then the locus of points P satisfying (1)
is called a generalized circle. It may either be a true circle or a line. In this sense a line is a
generalized circle of infinite radius.

Formulas for circles

Radius from circumference

The radius of the circle with perimeter (circumference) C is

Radius from area

The radius of a circle with area A is

Radius from three points

To compute the radius of a circle going through three points P1, P2, P3, the following formula can
be used:

where θ is the angle

Formulas for regular polygons

These formulas assume a regular polygon with n sides.

Radius from side

The radius can be computed from the side s by:

    where   

Formulas for hypercubes

Radius from side

The radius of a d-dimensional hypercube with side s is

Chords in trigonometry

Chords were used extensively in the early development of trigonometry. The first known
trigonometric table, compiled by Hipparchus, tabulated the value of the Chord function for
every 7.5 degrees.

The chord function is defined geometrically as in the picture to the left. The chord of an angle is
the length of the chord between two points on a unit circle separated by that angle. By taking
one of the points to be zero, it can easily be related to the modern sine function:

The last step uses the half-angle formula. Much as modern trigonometry is built on the sine
function, ancient trigonometry was built on the chord function. Hipparchus is purported to have
written a twelve volume work on chords, not extant, so presumably a great deal was known
about them. The chord function satisfies many identities analogous to well-known modern ones:

Name Sine-based Chord-based

2 2
Pythagorean sin θ + cos θ = 1
Half-angle

The half-angle identity greatly expedites the creation of chord tables. Ancient chord tables
typically used a large value for the radius of the circle, and reported the chords for this circle. It
was then a simple matter of scaling to determine the necessary chord for any circle. According to
G. J. Toomer, Hipparchus used a circle of radius 3438' (=3438/60=57.3). This value is
extremely close to 180 / π (=57.29577951...). One advantage of this choice of radius was that
he could very accurately approximate the chord of a small angle as the angle itself. In modern
terms, it allowed a simple linear approximation: