Tangent (disambiguation)

Tangent may refer to:

In mathematics:

• A tangent, in geometry, is a straight line through a point on a curve that has the same direction at that point as the curve.
  • There are analogous concepts for surfaces and higher-dimensional smooth manifolds, such as the tangent space.
  • More generally, in geometry, two curves are said to be tangent when they intersect at a given point and have the same direction at that point; see for instance tangent circles.
  • A bitangent is a line that is tangent to two different curves, or tangent twice to the same curve.
• In trigonometry, the tangent function is one of the six basic trigonometric functions

In music:

• Tangent (clavichord), a part of the action of the clavichord that both initiates and sustains a tone, and helps determine pitch
• Tangent (tangent piano), a part of the action of the tangent piano that only initiates the sound by striking the string(s) and rebounding immediately in the manner of a piano
• The Tangent, an international progressive rock supergroup
• Tangents: The Tea Party Collection, a compilation album from The Tea Party released in 2000.
• Tangents: 1973–1983, a compilation box set from Tangerine Dream released in 1994.

In entertainment:

• Tangent Comics, a short-lived imprint of DC Comics
• The Tangent Universe, the alternate universe in time travel in the cult film Donnie Darko
• Tangent (Stargate SG-1), an episode of the television series Stargate SG-1
• Tangents (film) or Time Chasers, a 1994 science fiction film
• Tangents (collection), a collection of science fiction stories by Greg Bear

Other uses:

• Tangent (club) an international social networking group for women over 45 who are former members of Ladies Circle, part of the Round Table (club) Family
• Tangent, Oregon, a city in Linn County, Oregon, United States
• In highway and railroad design, a tangent is a straight section of road or track; see track transition curve.
• Metaphorically, a theoretical concept can be described as tangent to another theoretical concept if they touch each other in some ways but are generally distinct.