Definition and Formula

The shortest distance between two parallel lines is said to be the perpendicular distance between these two,
i.e. the length of perpendicular drawn from a point in one line to another is called the distance between two
parallel lines.

Let us suppose that two parallel lines are given by the following equations:

y = mx + c1

y = mx + c2

which are the equations of straight lines having slope m (parallel lines have equal slope)
and c1c1 and c2c2 as y intercepts.

Then, the formula for finding the distance between them is given below:

d = ⃒C1-C2⃒/√𝟏 + 𝐦𝟐
Where, d denotes the distance.

Proof:

The proof of the formula for the distance between two parallel lines is as follows.
We know that slopes of two parallel lines are equal. If their intercept by Y axis is c1 & c2 respectively, then
two parallel lines can be written in the following form:

y = mx + c1 ______ (1)

and
y = mx + c2 ______ (2)

Have a look at the diagram explaining the situation in detail:

The point of intersection of line (2) at x-axis can be found by substituting

-c
y = 0 in it. By doing so, we obtain point A ( 2/m, 0) as demonstrated
in figure. A perpendicular is then drawn from the point A to the line (1). The length of this perpendicular is said
to be the distance between two parallel lines.

The formula for the perpendicular distance of a line ax + by + c = 0 from a point ( x1, y1) is given by:

d = |ax1+by1+c|/√𝑎2 + 𝑏 2
Here, we are required to find the perpendicular distance of line y = mx + c1 or mx - y + c1 = 0 from point
(-c2/m, 0).

d = |ax1+by1+c|/√𝑎2 + 𝑏 2

c
d = |m(− 2/m) +0+ 1| c /√m2 + 1
c c
d = |− 2 + 1 | /√m2 + 1
d= ⃒C1-C2⃒/√1 + m2
Which is the required formula for the distance between two parallel lines.