What is "foci"

Focus \Fo"cus\ (f[=o]"k[u^]s), n.; pl. E. Focuses (f[=o]"k[u^]s*[e^]z), L. Foci (f[=o]"s[imac]). [L. focus hearth, fireplace; perh. akin to E. bake. Cf. Curfew, Fuel, Fusil the firearm.]

1. (Opt.) A point in which the rays of light meet, after being reflected or refracted, and at which the image is formed; as, the focus of a lens or mirror.

2. (Geom.) A point so related to a conic section and certain straight line called the directrix that the ratio of the distance between any point of the curve and the focus to the distance of the same point from the directrix is constant.

   Note: Thus, in the ellipse FGHKLM, A is the focus and CD the directrix, when the ratios FA:FE, GA:GD, MA:MC, etc., are all equal. So in the hyperbola, A is the focus and CD the directrix when the ratio HA:HK is constant for all points of the curve; and in the parabola, A is the focus and CD the directrix when the ratio BA:BC is constant. In the ellipse this ratio is less than unity, in the parabola equal to unity, and in the hyperbola greater than unity. The ellipse and hyperbola have each two foci, and two corresponding directrixes, and the parabola has one focus and one directrix. In the ellipse the sum of the two lines from any point of the curve to the two foci is constant; that is: AG + GB = AH + HB; and in the hyperbola the difference of the corresponding lines is constant. The diameter which passes through the foci of the ellipse is the major axis. The diameter which being produced passes through the foci of the hyperbola is the transverse axis. The middle point of the major or the transverse axis is the center of the curve. Certain other curves, as the lemniscate and the Cartesian ovals, have points called foci, possessing properties similar to those of the foci of conic sections. In an ellipse, rays of light coming from one focus, and reflected from the curve, proceed in lines directed toward the other; in an hyperbola, in lines directed from the other; in a parabola, rays from the focus, after reflection at the curve, proceed in lines parallel to the axis. Thus rays from A in the ellipse are reflected to B; rays from A in the hyperbola are reflected toward L and M away from B.

3. A central point; a point of concentration.

   Aplanatic focus. (Opt.) See under Aplanatic.

   Conjugate focus (Opt.), the focus for rays which have a sensible divergence, as from a near object; -- so called because the positions of the object and its image are interchangeable.

   Focus tube (Phys.), a vacuum tube for R[oe]ntgen rays in which the cathode rays are focused upon the anticathode, for intensifying the effect.

   Principal focus, or Solar focus (Opt.), the focus for parallel rays.

classically correct plural of focus (n.).

n. (en-irregular pluralfocus)

1. n. the concentration of attention or energy on something; "the focus of activity shifted to molecular biology"; "he had no direction in his life" [syn: focusing, focussing, direction, centering]

2. maximum clarity or distinctness of an image rendered by an optical system; "in focus"; "out of focus"

3. maximum clarity or distinctness of an idea; "the controversy brought clearly into focus an important difference of opinion"

4. a central point or locus of an infection in an organism; "the focus of infection" [syn: focal point, nidus]

5. special emphasis attached to something; "the stress was more on accuracy than on speed" [syn: stress]

6. a point of convergence of light (or other radiation) or a point from which it diverges [syn: focal point]

7. a fixed reference point on the concave side of a conic section

8. [also: foci (pl)]

1. v. direct one's attention on something; "Please focus on your studies and not on your hobbies" [syn: concentrate, center, centre, pore, rivet]

2. cause to converge on or toward a central point; "Focus the light on this image" [ant: blur]

3. bring into focus or alignment; to converge or cause to converge; of ideas or emotions [syn: concenter, concentre, focalize, focalise]

4. become focussed or come into focus; "The light focused" [syn: focalize, focalise] [ant: blur]

5. put (an image) into focus; "Please focus the image; we cannot enjoy the movie" [syn: focalize, focalise, sharpen] [ant: blur]

6. [also: foci (pl)]

See focus