Envelope

envelope, in mathematics, a curve that is tangential to each one of a family of curves in a plane or, in three dimensions, a surface that is tangent to each one of a family of surfaces. For example, two parallel lines are the envelope of the family of circles of the same radius having centres on a straight line. An example of the envelope of a family of surfaces in space is the circular cone x² − y² = z² as the envelope of the family of paraboloids x² + y² = 4a(z −  a).