Confocal

In geometry, confocal means having the same foci: confocal conic sections.

* For an optical cavity consisting of two mirrors, confocal means that they share their foci. If they are identical mirrors, their radius of curvature, Rmirror, equals L, where L is the distance between the mirrors.
* In conic sections, it is said of two ellipses, two hyperbolas, or an ellipse and a hyperbola which share both foci with each other. If an ellipse and a hyperbola are confocal, they are perpendicular to each other.
* In optics, it means that one focus or image point of one lens is the same as one focus of the next lens.

## See also

[edit]

* Confocal laser scanning microscopy
* Confocal microscopy
* List of orbits § Eccentricity classifications

Index of articles associated with the same name

This set index article includes a list of related items that share the same name (or similar names).
If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.