Secant line Secant line In geometry, a secant of a curve is a line that intersects the curve in at least two (distinct) points. The word "secant" comes from the Latin word "secare", meaning "to cut". In the case of a circle, a secant will intersect the circle in exactly two points and a chord is the line segment determined by these two points, that is the interval on a secant whose endpoints are these points. A straight line can intersect a circle in two, one or zero points. A line intersecting in two points is called a "secant line", in one
Mohr's circle stress formula_95 is the abscissa of the centre formula_85, given by and the length of the radius formula_98 of the circle (based on the equation of a circle passing through two points), is given by The maximum and minimum shear stresses correspond to the ordinates of the highest and lowest points on the circle, respectively. These points are located at the intersection of the circle with the vertical line passing through the center of the circle, formula_85. Thus, the magnitude of the maximum and minimum shear stresses are equal to the value of the circle's radius formula_98 As mentioned before,