A sphere of radius 5 is centered at . Point A is at . Consider the cone formed by all the tangents from point A to the sphere. Find the volume of this cone.
Give your answer to 1 decimal place.
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Let O denote the sphere center. Distance A O = ( 5 − 1 ) 2 + ( 1 0 − 5 ) 2 + ( 1 6 − 4 ) 2 = 1 8 5 . Dimensions of the cone can be obtained in 2D by constructing a circle of radius 5 and an apex distanced 1 8 5 from the center of the circle.
Applying Pythagorean theorem:
A B = 4 1 0
△ A B O = 1 0 1 0 ⇒ B D = 2 × △ A B O / A O ≈ 4 . 6 5 .
A D = A B 2 − B D 2 ≈ 1 1 . 7 6
r = B D , h = A D .
V = 3 1 π r 2 h ≈ 2 6 6 . 3