what is parabola

A parabola is a plane curve that is approximately U-shaped and is mirror-symmetrical. It can be defined geometrically as a set of points in the Euclidean plane that are equidistant from a fixed point (the focus) and a fixed straight line (the directrix) . The vertex is the midpoint of the perpendicular from the focus onto the directrix, and the line is the axis of symmetry of the parabola. A parabola can also be described as a conic section, created from the intersection of a right circular conical surface and a plane parallel to another plane that is tangential to the conical surface. Parabolic mirrors are used in most modern reflecting telescopes and in satellite dishes and radar receivers. The path of a projectile follows a parabola, a consequence of uniform acceleration due to gravity. The simplest equation for a parabola is y = x^2.