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Rishi Garg
Pre-Calculus, 5th Period
Mrs. Beck
30 April 2008

Conic Section Applications: Hyperbola

By definition, a hyperbola is “the set of points in the plane for which

the difference of the distances to two points is constant. Each of the two
points is called a focus, or focal point, of the hyperbola” (Connally 543).
Visually, hyperbolas look like two curved, open mouths facing opposite
directions, usually left and right. The two “mouths” can also be facing up and
down.
There are many natural phenomena that involve hyperbolas. For
example, sonic booms are created when an object exceeds the speed of
sound in air. The shock wave of a sonic boom takes the shape of a cone, and
when it intersects the ground, it takes the shape of a hyperbola. Every point
on the curve is hit at the same time, so everyone on the ground will hear the
sound at the same time.
Another application of hyperbolas involves radio waves. When there
are two points where radio signals are emitted, the signals form concentric
circles intersecting each other. The patterns created by the intersecting
circles of radio waves form the shapes of hyperbolas. This is the basis for the
LORAN long-range navigation system. This system uses the time difference
between the receipts of radio signals from two different stations to
geographically fix the location of the receiver on the hyperbola. Because
exact location cannot be determined simply using two sets of waves, a third
station is used to triangulate the exact location of the receiver. This system
was created by Americans in response to a similar, more primitive British
system used in World War II. Early LORAN systems had a range of 1200
miles. Systems built during World War II were used extensively by the US
Navy. It was originally known as LRN, for Loomis radio navigation, after
physicist Alfred Loomis, who created the system. LORAN remained the most
popular form of long-range navigation until the creation of GPS.

In order for the LORAN system to fully work, a chain of three radio
stations is necessary. One of these stations is designated the master
stations, and the other two are called secondary stations. Each station sends
out timed pulses at the speed of light. Each station has a unique time delay
to distinguish from each others’ waves. These signals reach the LORAN
receiver, which is often located on a ship or airplane. By analyzing the time
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delays between sending and receiving the pulses, the exact geographical
location of the receiver may be determined.
The LORAN system is based mostly off the fact that distance equals the
product of velocity and time. If velocity of the radio waves remains constant,
the time difference between the arrivals of the waves is directly proportional
to the distance between the transmitting station and the receiver. Here is an
example of the system:

Let’s say that points M and X represent two transmitting stations. Point
A represents the LORAN receiver. According to the definition of a hyperbola,
the difference of distance from point A to points M and X is the same as if
point A was moved along the hyperbola formed by the radio waves. Using
this method of thought, we can find the hyperbolic line on which point A is
located. We can use an additional transmitting station to find the exact
location. Here is some of the math needed to find the differences of the
distances, assuming that the coordinates of point A are (a,b):
dAM=b2+(a+200)2 These equations are both derived using the
dAX=b2+(a-200)2 Pythagorean Theorem.
differenceAM-AX= dAM-dAX This equation gives the difference of the
distances.of the distances, we can use further
After we have found the difference
mathematics to discover the equation of the hyperbola. Now, we have a
much smaller range of points on which the receiver may be located. Lastly,
we need to repeat the same process with one of the original transmitting
stations and another station, so that we can find the intersection of the two
hyperbolas and determine the exact location of the receiver.
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In this picture, S1 and M are the foci for one hyperbola, and S2 and M
are the foci for another hyperbola. The intersection of these hyperbolas gives
the location of the receiver. We only need to use radio wave time delays to
calculate the paths of the hyperbolas.

Works Cited

Britton, Jill. "Occurrence of the Conics." Jill Britton's Home Page. 04 Jan. 2008.
Camosun

College. 29 Apr. 2008

<http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/jbconics.htm>.

Connally, Eric. Functions Modeling Change. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
2007. 543-546.

"Hyperbolic Systems." The American Practical Navigator. 29 Apr. 2008

<http://www.irbs.com/bowditch/pdf/chapt12.pdf>.

"The Mathematics of Loran." Math Central. University of Regina. 29 Apr. 2008

<http://mathcentral.uregina.ca/beyond/articles/LoranGPS/Loran.html>.