Difference between an orthogonal complement and the orthogonal complement's basis.

In summary, the conversation is about understanding the difference between an orthogonal complement and its basis. The problem at hand involves finding the orthogonal complement and its basis for the given equation. The attempt at a solution involved using a reduced row echelon to find the nullspace, which could potentially be the orthogonal complement or its basis. The poster also mentions starting a new thread and requesting the deletion of their previous thread.
  • #1
bluewhistled
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Homework Statement


I don't understand the difference between an orthogonal complement and it's basis. In this problem: W = [x,y,z]: 2x-y+3z=0 Find w's orthogonal complement and the basis for the orthogonal complement.

The Attempt at a Solution


I did a quick reduced row echelon to [2,-1,3] to get [1,-.5,1.5] and then found the nullspace which is [.5,1,0] and [-1.5,0,1] and this is either the orthogonal complement or the orthogonal complement's basis. Anyone know the difference?
 
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  • #3


I essentially answered my question before. My first one was getting convoluted with my posts. So I started a new one based on a different question. Would you mind deleting my original thread? And if you do, would you mind deleting your post claiming I started multiple threads so as not to discourage people from helping.

Thanks
 

1. What is an orthogonal complement?

An orthogonal complement is a subspace that is perpendicular to a given subspace in a vector space. This means that all vectors in the orthogonal complement are orthogonal (perpendicular) to all vectors in the given subspace.

2. What is the difference between an orthogonal complement and the orthogonal complement's basis?

The orthogonal complement is a subspace, while the orthogonal complement's basis is a set of vectors that span this subspace. In other words, the orthogonal complement's basis is a set of vectors that, when combined, can represent any vector in the orthogonal complement.

3. How do you find the orthogonal complement?

To find the orthogonal complement of a subspace, you can use the Gram-Schmidt process. This involves finding a set of orthogonal vectors that span the subspace and then using these vectors to form the basis of the orthogonal complement.

4. Can two subspaces have the same orthogonal complement?

Yes, it is possible for two subspaces to have the same orthogonal complement. This occurs when the two subspaces are orthogonal to each other, meaning that their intersection is only the zero vector.

5. What is the importance of the orthogonal complement in linear algebra?

The orthogonal complement is important in linear algebra because it allows us to find a basis for a subspace and its orthogonal complement. This can be useful in solving systems of linear equations and finding solutions to problems in various fields, such as physics and computer science.

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