Oblate Spheroid Class setting C

Hello, I am trying to create an oblate spheroid object in matlab. I would like to specify certain parameters, more specifically, A,B,C of the ellipsoid. I can specify A,B directly using SemiminorAxis and SemimajorAxis, however, I am not sure how to set C.

Please tell me if there is any way I can specify this exactly.

Thank You

Answer 1

[Brian Neiswander]

Given the general equation of an ellipsoid:

(x/A)^2 + (y/B)^2 + (z/C)^2 = 1

The spheroid is a special case of an ellipsoid where "A" is equal to "B":

(x+y)^2/A^2 + (z/C)^2 = 1

This means that the spheroid is symmetric about its polar axis. When defining an "oblateSpheroid" object in MATLAB, the properties:

• "SemimajorAxis" defines "A" in the spheroid equation above
• There is no "B" to define because it is equivalent to "A" by definition
• "SemiminorAxis" defines "C" in the spheroid equation above

You can check the NASA SPICE Toolkit as it may provide some functionality for "triaxial" ellipsoids.

http://naif.jpl.nasa.gov/naif/index.html

See below for more reference on ellipsoids and spheroids.

http://math.wikia.com/wiki/Ellipsoid