When two circles do not intersect and do not touch each other, how many common tangents can be drawn?

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Accepted Answer

1. Let the circles have radii $r_1, r_2$ and center distance $d$.  
2. If they do not touch or meet and lie outside each other, then $d>r_1+r_2$.  
3. Such a pair has **two direct (outer)** tangents and **two transverse (inner)** tangents.  
4. Total common tangents = $2+2=4$.  
FINAL_ANSWER: c

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