How to find the equation of a tangent line to a circle ( known radius) from a known point? And How to find the intersection point on the circle?
9 views (last 30 days)
Show older comments
How to find the equation of a tangent line to a circle ( known radius) from a known point? And How to find the intersection point on the circle?
0 Comments
Accepted Answer
Image Analyst
on 28 Nov 2019
Edited: Image Analyst
on 29 Nov 2019
This is not a MATLAB question - it's just analytical geometry formulas and algebra. Just draw it out and make sure you see the right angle between the center, the point off the circle, and the point on the circle. Then use the Pythagorean theorem.
[EDIT]
OK some more hints:
Let's say R is the radius, and (xr, yr) is on the circle, and (xc, yc) is the center of the circle, and (xp, yp) is the point away from and off the circle. So by the Pythagorean theorem
length1 = sqrt((xp-xr)^2 + (yp-yr)^2) % Length of side #1
length2 = sqrt((xp-xc)^2 + (yp-yc)^2) % Length of side #2
R^2 + length1^2 = length2^2 % The right triangle.
Plug in for length1 and length 2 :
R^2 + (xp-xr)^2 + (yp-yr)^2 = (xp-xc)^2 + (yp-yc)^2 % The right triangle.
Multiply out and cancel and combine terms and you'll be further along.
2 Comments
More Answers (0)
See Also
Categories
Find more on Computational Geometry in Help Center and File Exchange
Community Treasure Hunt
Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!
Start Hunting!