Eccentricity (mathematics)

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In mathematics, the eccentricity of a conic section is a non-negative real number that uniquely characterizes its shape. One can think of the eccentricity as a measure of how much a conic section deviates from being circular. In particular: The eccentricity of a circle is 0. The eccentricity of a non-circular ellipse is between 0 and 1. The eccentricity of a parabola is 1. The eccentricity of a hyperbola is greater than 1. The eccentricity of a pair of lines is ∞ . {\displaystyle \infty .} Two conic sections with the same eccentricity are similar.

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