Prolate spheroid

Prolate spheroid

A prolate spheroid is a spheroid in which the polar diameter is longer than the equatorial diameter.

Prolate spheroids in sport

The prolate spheroid is the shape of the ball in several sports, such as Rugby Football and Australian Rules Football. American Football and Canadian Football use a pointed prolate spheroid (also resembling a rotated vesica piscis). ["See" [http://www.ncaapublications.com/Uploads/PDF/Football_Rulesadc982b5-03fb-4e27-828c-c2d26b95e6c1.pdf 2008 NCAA Football Rules and Interpretations, Sec. 1, Art. 1] ]

Prolate spheroids in astronomy

The prolate spheroid, like the oblate spheroid, is the shape of some of the moons in the solar system. Examples are Mimas, Enceladus, and Tethys (moons of Saturn) and Miranda (moon of Uranus). Also, the dwarf planet dp|Haumea is a prolate spheroid.

It is also used to describe the shape of some nebulae such as the Crab Nebula. citation
last1 = Trimble
first1 = Virginia Louise
author1-link = Virginia Trimble
title = The Distance to the Crab Nebula and NP 0532
year = 1973
date = October 1973
journal = Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
volume = 85
issue = 507
page = 579
url = http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1973PASP...85..579T
]

ee also

* Oblate
* Spheroid
* Reference ellipsoid
* List of solar system objects by mass
* Triaxial
* Equidimensional

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Prolate spheroid — Prolate Pro late, a. [L. prolatus, used as p. p. of proferre to bring forth, to extend; pro + latus, p. p. See {Pro }, and {Tolerate}. ] Stretched out; extended; especially, elongated in the direction of a line joining the poles; as, a prolate… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prolate spheroid — Spheroid Sphe roid, n. [L. spheroides ball like, spherical, Gr. ???; ???? sphere + e i^dos form: cf. F. sph[ e]ro[ i]de.] A body or figure approaching to a sphere, but not perfectly spherical; esp., a solid generated by the revolution of an… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • prolate spheroid — noun Etymology: prolate (II) : an ellipsoid of revolution generated by revolving an ellipse about its major axis …   Useful english dictionary

  • Prolate — Pro late, a. [L. prolatus, used as p. p. of proferre to bring forth, to extend; pro + latus, p. p. See {Pro }, and {Tolerate}. ] Stretched out; extended; especially, elongated in the direction of a line joining the poles; as, a prolate spheroid;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prolate cycloid — Prolate Pro late, a. [L. prolatus, used as p. p. of proferre to bring forth, to extend; pro + latus, p. p. See {Pro }, and {Tolerate}. ] Stretched out; extended; especially, elongated in the direction of a line joining the poles; as, a prolate… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prolate ellipsoid — Prolate Pro late, a. [L. prolatus, used as p. p. of proferre to bring forth, to extend; pro + latus, p. p. See {Pro }, and {Tolerate}. ] Stretched out; extended; especially, elongated in the direction of a line joining the poles; as, a prolate… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spheroid — Sphe roid, n. [L. spheroides ball like, spherical, Gr. ???; ???? sphere + e i^dos form: cf. F. sph[ e]ro[ i]de.] A body or figure approaching to a sphere, but not perfectly spherical; esp., a solid generated by the revolution of an ellipse about… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Prolate spheroidal coordinates — are a three dimensional orthogonal coordinate system that results from rotating the two dimensional elliptic coordinate system about the focal axis of the ellipse, i.e., the axis on which the foci are located. Rotation about the other axis… …   Wikipedia

  • prolate — [prō′lāt΄] adj. [L prolatus, pp. of proferre, to bring forward: see PRO 1 & BEAR1] extended or elongated at the poles [a prolate spheroid] …   English World dictionary

  • Spheroid — A spheroid is a quadric surfaceobtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi diameters. If the ellipse is rotated about its major axis, the result is a prolate (elongated)… …   Wikipedia

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