What is Orientation: Definition and 196 Discussions

Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generally subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality, while asexuality (the lack of sexual attraction to others) is sometimes identified as the fourth category.These categories are aspects of the more nuanced nature of sexual identity and terminology. For example, people may use other labels, such as pansexual or polysexual, or none at all. According to the American Psychological Association, sexual orientation "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions". Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation as an alternative to a gender binary conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to femininity. The term sexual preference largely overlaps with sexual orientation, but is generally distinguished in psychological research. A person who identifies as bisexual, for example, may sexually prefer one sex over the other. Sexual preference may also suggest a degree of voluntary choice, whereas the scientific consensus is that sexual orientation is not a choice.Scientists do not know the exact cause of sexual orientation, but they theorize that it is caused by a complex interplay of genetic, hormonal, and environmental influences. Although no single theory on the cause of sexual orientation has yet gained widespread support, scientists favor biologically based theories. There is considerably more evidence supporting nonsocial, biological causes of sexual orientation than social ones, especially for males. There is no substantive evidence which suggests parenting or early childhood experiences play a role with regard to sexual orientation. Across cultures, most people are heterosexual, with a minority of people having a homosexual or bisexual orientation. A person's sexual orientation can be anywhere on a continuum, from exclusive attraction to the opposite sex to exclusive attraction to the same sex.Sexual orientation is studied primarily within biology, neuroscience, and psychology (including sexology), but it is also a subject area in sociology, history (including social constructionist perspectives), and law.

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  1. AutodiJack

    B Celestial plane orientation to the galactic core

    Sorry if this is obvious, but I have studied all the images of galactic orientation online, but I need to be sure. Diagram i made to help illustrate what I mean: I believe it's towards, using this as a reference...
  2. L

    Exploring the Role of Determinants in Orienting Scientific Research

    Hi, unfortunately, I have problems with the task c I used the tip with the Laplace evolution theorem and rewrote the determinant to calculate ##W_n##. Then I simply formed the scalar product ##W_1 W_n## and here I get now no further.
  3. V

    Flag orientation for a boat observer Vs a ground observer

    I am confused by the question. So, the first thing I am trying to understand is whether the flag direction will be same to a boat observer as to a ground observer. I know that the flag will orient itself in the direction the wind is blowing towards, so the flag should always point in NE...
  4. Leo Liu

    Using Arduino to Obtain Absolute Orientation from a 6-Axis Gyro

    The gyro has 6 inertial axes and 3 magnetic axes. How do I make them work together to get the orientation of the rocket in the reference fixed to the ground? I found something from Matlab but I am not sure how it works...
  5. A

    Problem with the positive orientation of a surface (Stokes' theorem)

    Greetings the solution is the following which I understand I do understand why the current orientation of the Path is positive regarding to stocks (the surface should remain to the left) but I don´t understand why the current N vector of the surface is positive regarding stockes theorem...
  6. rudransh verma

    B Confusion with orientation of coordinate axis in inclined plane

    When we take the x-axis parallel to incline surface its clear that the horizontal component of weight is causing the block to come down but when we take the standard orientation its not so clear to me. Is horizontal component of ##F_N## causing the block to come down? <Moderator's note: Use of...
  7. B

    Orientation of Major Axis for polarized light

    Case 1 worked out great, I found it to be linearly polarized light at an angle ##\alpha = \frac{\pi}{4}##, but Case 2 is giving me trouble. As best I can tell, ##\alpha## is undefined in case 2. How do I solve case 2?
  8. A

    Problem with the orientation of a surface

    Greetings All, I have confusion to establish the orientation of a surface so please bear with me σ Those two surfaces are of course intersecting in z=10 on a circle . if I take the surface σ and I want it to be oriented so that it forms an acute angle with the axe Z , the orientation of the...
  9. I

    I Rotational Orientation of Monatomic Gas: Angular Momentum Effects

    In other words, is there a rotational orientation of each atom in a monatomic gas (and corresponding rotational speed conserving angular momentum) that affects collisions, or does a substance need to have at least 2 atom particles to have the orientation/rotational ability to have particle...
  10. A

    Dependence of the stress vector on surface orientation

    According to Cauchy's stress theorem, the stress vector ##\mathbf{T}^{(\mathbf{n})}## at any point P in a continuum medium associated with a plane with normal unit vector n can be expressed as a function of the stress vectors on the planes perpendicular to the coordinate axes, i.e., in terms of...
  11. R

    B Coupling Magnetic Fields: Does Orientation Change Strength?

    Magnetic fields coupling question. I had to make a small tool holder for my drill press, it hangs on side of press using N52 cylinder magnets. The holder is 4" long x 3/4 x 3/4" AL bar. With a spacing of 3", two 1/2" holes are bored to accept the 1/2 x 1/2 N52's, which will be epoxied in. I...
  12. B

    B SR equation seems to depend on orientation of the 'light clock'

    One of my first exposures to special relativity was looking at a 'light clock' where a photon is emitted and captured by a detector whilst traveling on a train. The passenger sees the photon go straight up. The distance traveled by this photon in a given time, t, is c t An observer however...
  13. E

    B Orientation of double integrals

    I learned that, because ##du \, dv = \frac{\partial(u,v)}{\partial(x,y)} dx \, dy##, if you set ##u=y## and ##v=x## then you get that ##dx \, dy = - dy \, dx##. And that the product of two differentials is a wedge product, which is antisymmetric. If coordinates are orthogonal, then ##dx \, dy =...
  14. U

    I Fixing orientation by fixing a frame in a tangent space

    I would like to show that fixing the orientation of k-manifold smooth connected ##S## in ##\mathbb {R} ^ n ## is equivalent to fixing a frame for one of its tangent spaces. What I know is that different orientations correspond to orienting atlases containing maps that cannot be consistent with...
  15. U

    I Fixing an orientation for a connected smooth surface

    I am studying on Zorich, Mathematical Analysis II, 1st ed. pag. 174-175. After having properly explained how orientations (equivalence classes) are defined for smooth k-dimensional surfaces in ##\mathbb {R} ^ n## that can be described with a single map, move on to the more general case by...
  16. J

    What is the orientation of the vector of friction?

    Hi, It is my first message :) I hope you are all fine and safe in these difficult days ! I cannot find the good orientation of the vector of friction. A circle moves in translation to the right and in the same time the wall rotates around A0. A0 is fixed to the ground. There is always the...
  17. C

    Which Orientation is Worse for Leakage in a Glass Bottle?

    Hi, I'm looking for help in knowing which orientation is worse for finding leakage: upside down, sideways or no difference. I have a 30ml glass bottle filled with 26ml of oil that is closed with a glass stopper (cork) applied with a set force. The neck of the bottle is filled with oil when...
  18. R

    Orientation of the Ferroelectric Hysteresis Loop -- Why is it different now?

    (Edited with suggestions from Berkeman) After reading the original 1930 paper by Sawyer and Tower (link to original paper here), I noticed that their hysteresis loops are mirrored around the y-axis from many of the ferroelectric hysteresis loops reported today ( see FE examples here, here...
  19. H

    I Preferred orientation of a nitrogen molecule in space?

    Consider an ##N_2## molecule. Chemists say that the triple bond is due to one ##p_x - p_x## overlap, one ##p_y - p_y## overlap and one ##p_z - p_z## overlap. The x-axis (the label is not important; I’m sure you know what I mean) is clear because it’s the longitudinal axis of the molecule. But...
  20. T

    I Calculating Earth's Orientation and Moon's Position at J2000.0

    Hi there, I am making a very basic model of an earth, moon, sun system in ECEF in C# using the Helix Toolkit and in order to begin transformations according to Earth's rotation, tilt, and orbit, I need a reference orientation/position/time of Earth with respect to the sun and moon. So my...
  21. nomadreid

    Hibbing: physiological reactions ~ political orientation.... ?

    Dr. John R. Hibbing of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, has published several papers which basically say that there is a correlation between certain physiological reactions of a person and her political ideology (or at least her position in the American political spectrum, with Hibbing's...
  22. B

    Projectile orientation near apogee

    How do I determine how much drag is required to orient a spinning spherical projectile with a small parachute just before apogee? The projectile is going straight up. The parachute will not be deployed until around 6.5 seconds into flight when the object is traveling at 14.2 m/s. This isn't a...
  23. P

    Corona discharge orientation

    I noticed high frequency (greater than 800khz) corona tends to orientate vertically as if it were a flame with a strong air blower beneath it regardless of electrode positioning. This is not the case for DC and low frequency AC corona. Is there a reason why high frequency corona orientates...
  24. H

    A Help with determination of crystal orientation

    Dear all, Hi, I am looking for a non-destructive method of determining the crystal orientation of a smaller-than-50x50x50 μm single crystal, mounted on a quartz substrate. I've considered several x-ray methods like Laue method, or microfocused XRD, but there are some experimental difficulty...
  25. S

    I What is orientation or shear transform collectively termed?

    What is an orientation (i.e., set of Euler rotations) or shear transform collectively termed? It seems that these transforms, along with the scale transform are known as "linear" transforms, as described in the Venn diagram on page 2...
  26. R

    I 2D Fourier transform orientation angle

    The orientation of frequency components in the 2-D Fourier spectrum of an image reflect the orientation of the features they represent in the original image. In techniques such as nonlinear microscopy, they use this idea to determine the preferred (i.e. average) orientation of certain features...
  27. R

    Quick question - orientation of a hydrophobic / hydrophilic molecule

    Hi, I am looking at how molecules with hydrophobic and hydrophillic properties move and orientate themselves in water. If I have say a PFOS molecule... The hydrophobic part (the perfluoroalkyl group - the carbon chain) will move to the liquid surface but the hydrophillic part (the sulfonate...
  28. P

    Unpolarised light: Orientation of the E-field

    Homework Statement How does this picture represent a unpolarised light?Homework EquationsThe Attempt at a Solution [/B] I thought light waves were perpendicular to the direction of propogation so if it has diagonal components then isn't that not perpendicular to the wave direction If it is...
  29. M

    MHB Checking the Orientation of an Integral on a Surface Bounded by a Sphere

    Hey! :o I want to calculate $$\iint_{\Sigma}\left (ydy\land dz+zdz\land dx+zdx\land dy\right )$$ where $\Sigma$ is the surface that is described by $x^2+y^2+z^2=1$ and $y\geq 0$ and has such an orientation that the perpendicular vectors that implies have a direction away from the point...
  30. B

    How to find the orientation of polarization of a polarizer

    If you have a new linear polarizer, how do you find its orientation of polarization? In other words, how do you orient it so it would, let say, polarize light vertically if there is no marking for the 0 degrees angle?
  31. Daniel Petka

    Orientation of EM waves

    A while ago, I saw an explanation of radio waves. Overall, it's a decent vid. I bumped into some nasty problems. Basically, the image shows that the wavelength of a EM-wave corresponds to the height of the antenna. The visualisation however can't be right since the wave cannot go upwards- the...
  32. R

    A Is spacetime orientation a convention?

    I thought this was an easy enough question but then I managed to obtain arguments both for and agaisnt it and confused myself. Is there a clear demonstrable answer to this question in relativistic field theory? Is spatial and temporal orientation a convention?
  33. J

    I Does beta decay change spin orientation?

    If you have a free neutron viewed from a known frame of reference which is known to be spin up and it decays, is there anything in theory or experiment which indicates whether the remaining proton will be spin up or down? Thanks Jerry
  34. T

    Rigid body orientation using Euler angles confusion

    Hello, Homework Statement I'm given the following exercise: "A rod with neglected thickness exists. What is the relation between the α,β angles to Euler angles of orientation? α is defined as the angle between the rod and its projection on the XY plane. β is defined as the angle between the...
  35. M

    Show reparameterized curvature equals curvature up to a sign

    Homework Statement Let γ: I → ℝ2 be a smooth regular curve and let λ = γ ο φ with φ: Iλ → I be a reparameterisation of γ. Show, by using the general formula for curvature of a regular curve that κλ = ±κ ο Φ where the ± depends on whether φ is orientation preserving (+) or reversing (-)...
  36. B

    A Tools to transform primitive cell orientation

    In case the orientation of a primitive cell is not what I want, is there tools to do a user-supplied 3D rotation to bring the primitive cell to the preferential orientation and output the new coordinates? Thanks,
  37. F

    I Orientation of the Earth, Sun and Solar System in the Milky Way

    I've been tinkering with a few diagrams in an attempt to illustrate the motion of the solar system in its journey around the Milky Way. I also wanted portray how the celestial, ecliptic and galactic coordinate systems are related to each other in a single picture. Note: in the Celestial, or...
  38. F

    I Contour integration - reversing orientation

    I have been reading through "Complex Analysis for Mathematics & Engineering" by J. Matthews and R.Howell, and I'm a bit confused about the way in which they have parametrised the opposite orientation of a contour ##\mathcal{C}##. Using their notation, consider a contour ##\mathcal{C}## with...
  39. S

    A What is orientation of a needle shaped spacecraft?

    this is a small part of a problem on tidal forces and I wasn't sure what the question asks as it seems to me that more information is needed. Am I right or is there something I am missing? the question goes as: "A spacecraft approaches a neutron star of radius 10 km and mass 1.5 times mass...
  40. O

    Path orientation for calculating electric potential

    For line integrals in vector calculus, \int^a_b F \cdot dl I almost always see the path oriented from a to b. But my textbook has the following (look at the first equation for V(r): Since the integral's limits are from O to r, I would have expected dl to also be pointing in the direction...
  41. Alexswash

    Young Belgian HS Student :-)

    Well hello there, My name is Alex, I'm a belgian high school student (currently going to start my senior year), and I'm 17. I love this forum, it helps me a lot when I need an info about physics, the physics major and the jobs associated with physics. I joined this forum because I myself have a...
  42. D

    I Consistency of atomic magnetic dipole spatial orientation wi

    I've been recently trying to understand the concept of paramagnetism, but I feel like I'm running into 2 conflicting models. Stern–Gerlach seems to suggest that electron spins always point up or down to an incident magnetic field, regardless of their spatial orientation. Similarly, when...
  43. Davephaelon

    B Can Cooper Pairs Have Different Orientations in a Superconductor?

    Can Cooper pairs have any spatial orientation within a superconductor? In most graphical depictions of a Cooper pair they are both on the same axis (moving through the same channel within the lattice), and parallel with the current direction. Is there any reason the pair cannot be at a right...
  44. S

    Need help with accelerometer data processing

    Hi, am working on a vehicle tracking device, i am using LIS3Dh accelerometer to get the acceleration data. i am using TM4c1231e6pz controller. I need to implement a harsh breaking alert, I am having difficulty in finding out which direction the vehicle is moving since the axis are not aligned...
  45. shintashi

    Coil Winding Orientation and Pattern....

    OK, so imagine you have a wire coiling over itself, in a near concentric spiral. When you get to the outer most edge, such as 10 or 100 wrappings depending on thickness, you then bend the wire so it's one diameter of the wire over and then start spiraling inward, till you get to the smallest...
  46. C

    B What is the shape and orientation os the Higgs field?

    Greetings, Other fields are curved around particles and objects. The Higgs field permeates all of space. What is the shape of the Higgs field lines? Is it parallel lines? Or a grid of perpendicular lines? Is it curved? What is the orientation? What determined the orientation? Thanks
  47. MattRob

    I Shuttle Orientation in Orbit: A GR Perspective

    An interesting thing that caught my attention before is how the space shuttle was oriented when it was in orbit (feels kinda sad to say "was" instead of "is"...). Maybe I'm not remembering right, or maybe the source was wrong, but I recall an astronaut mentioning that the tail end of the shuttle...
  48. P

    The approximate orientation of an electric field

    Homework Statement On the image, the left stick has a positive charge and the one of the right has a negative one. (Unirformed charge for each) Give the approximate orientation of the electric fields at the points A, B, C, D by using cardinal orientation. http://imgur.com/uWW7JJH [Image...
  49. R

    Questions About Spatial Orientation of Event w/ Respect to LIGO

    I didn't see these areas addressed, my apologies if I missed them. If there was no delay in the detection of the signals at the two sites, would that mean that the location of the event was 'directly overhead' or 'directly below'? Was the delay, compared to the speed of light and distance...
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