Coordinate system Definition and 192 Threads

  1. Z

    Graduate Rotation of coordinate system mistake or paradox?

    Hello to all, I am currently studying computer graphics and I have came up with the following problem. Consider that we have three coordinate systems, let's say CSA1, CSA2 and CSA3 that have the same origin and differ by a rotation. That is to CSA2 connects to CSA1 by R12 and CSA3 to CSA1 by...
  2. B

    Vector analysis in cylindrical coordinate system

    if a point in cylindrical cordinates is A=(r1,\theta1,z1) and another point is B=(r2,\theta2,z2) (if ar,a\theta,az are unit vectors) then the position vector of A is = r1<ar>+\theta1<a\theta>+z1<az> and the position vector of B is = r2<ar>+\theta2<a\theta>+z2<az> so vector BA=...
  3. C

    Graduate Looking for a coordinate system

    I'm working with a cartestian system that has certain periodic properties I'd like to exploit with a new coordinate system, but I don't know one that would work. The trajectory of the state of the system is symmetric across non-adjacent squares (ie a checkerboard of sorts), so that (x,y) can...
  4. M

    What Is the Epoch Time for the WGS84 Coordinate System?

    Hello, I've been searching all over for the epoch time of the WGS84 coord system. A GPS I'm using says its 06/01/1980, but I don't know if starts from 12:00:00 ET. Is there an epoch by definition or is it arbitrary?
  5. L

    Graduate Parametrization vs. coordinate system

    I am reading Differential Topology by Guillemin and Pollack. Definition: X in RN is a k-dimensional manifold if it is locally diffeomorphic to Rk. Suppose U is an open subset of Rk and V is a neighborhood of a point x in X. A diffeomorphism f:U->V is called a parametrization of the...
  6. Q

    High School Left-Handed Coordinate System: Unit Vectors i,j,k

    A friend asked me this question today. It kinda threw me for a loop. The cartesian coordinates system is a left handed coordinate system right, so therefroe they are defined by a left handed coordinate syste correct?
  7. R

    Linear Algebra: Coordinate system corresponding to the basis

    Homework Statement In the xy-plane, sketch the coordinate system [ a; b] corresponding to the basis { (1, 1 ) , (1, -1) } by drawing the lines a = 0, \pm1 and b = 0, \pm1. What point in the xy-plan corresponds to a = 1, b = 2?Homework Equations Not sure of any in this caseThe Attempt at a...
  8. M

    Pendulum in polar coordinate system problem

    Homework Statement A pendulum consists of a particle of the mass m and a thread of the length l (we don't consider the threads mass). The acceleration caused by gravity is g. Solve the particles displacement and the force caused by the tension in the thread T in a polar coordinate system. The...
  9. L

    How Do You Convert Between Two Coordinate Systems with Different Basis Vectors?

    Homework Statement 2 coordinate systems are given: 1st: \vec{a}, \vec{b}, \vec{c} 2nd: \vec{m}, \vec{n}, \vec{p} in system \vec{a}, \vec{b}, \vec{c} basis vectors of 2nd system have values: \vec{m}=\{2/3, 1/3, 1/3\}, \vec{n}=\{-1/3, 1/3, 1/3\}, \vec{p}=\{-1/3, -2/3, 1/3\} also known that...
  10. L

    Undergrad Length of curve in Polar coordinate system

    I want to caculate length of curve in Polar coordinate system like this: if r=r(a) then length of the curve is [SIZE="4"]∫r(a)da Is this right? if not ,why ? What's the right one ? I konw the way in rectangular coordinate system,I just want to do it in Polar coordinate system .
  11. M

    How can I convert coordinates from Spherical to Cartesian?

    I do not understand Spherical coordinate system. I'm asked to compare the differences with Cartesian coordinate but I have no idea how to start. So I would like some help that will at least give me a understanding of the spherical coordinate system, thx
  12. B

    Graduate Does coordinate system = gauge ?

    Does "coordinate system" = "gauge"? [SIZE="4"]Are "coordinate system" and "gauge" the same thing? What about "coordinate transformation" and "gauge transformation"?
  13. L

    Verifying Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinate System

    For the transformation u_1=2x-y u_2=x+2y u_3=3z verify that the u_i form an orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system
  14. A

    Graduate 4D angular coordinate system and corresponding hypervolume element

    I am looking for a 4D angular coordinate system (radius and three angles) and its corresponding "hypervolume element". 2D: polar coordinates - dA = r dr dtheta 3D: spherical coordinates - dV = r^2 sin(phi) dphi dtheta dr 4D: ?
  15. M

    Graduate Curl of a vector in a NON-orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system

    Hi, I have a certain NON-orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system in 3D (in the metric only g_{13}=g_{23}=g_{31}=g_{32}=0) and I want to take the curl (\nabla\times\mathbf{v}) of a vector. Any idea on how to do this? The only information I can find is about taking the curl of a vector in...
  16. K

    Graduate About momentum operator in other coordinate system

    Hi there, does anyone know where can I found a material or note about how to deduce momentum operator in coordinate system other than linear coordinate (especially in spherical coordinate system)? Thanks in advanced.
  17. R

    Vector angle in a standard x-y coordinate system?

    A certain vector has x and y components that are equal in magnitude. Which of the following is a possible angle for this vector in a standard x-y coordinate system? 30° 180° 90° 60° 45° Is this problem too simple or am i missing something? if the x and y components are equal in...
  18. F

    Parabolic coordinate system question

    Homework Statement a 3D solid is bounded by 2 paraboloids. The binding condition in cartesian coordinates is -1+(x2+y2) < 2z < 1-(x2+y2) a) rewrite the binding condition in parabolic coordinates b) using parabolic coordinates and the (already derived) metric tensor, find the volume of...
  19. G

    Question about cylindrical (ie. 3d polar) coordinate system.

    Question Details: Convert the following equation into cylindrical coordinates... x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = 4 It's obvious that r^2 = x^2+y^2... but that would only simplify the equation to: r^2 + z^2 = 4 ... is there a better way to do this?
  20. A

    Graduate Coordinate transformation and choice of a suitable coordinate system.

    Consider the line element: ds^2=-f(x)dt^2+g(x)dx^2 in a coordinate system (t,x) where f(x) and g(x) are two functions to be determined by solving Einstein equation. But I can always make a transformation g(x)dx^2=dy^2 and then calculate everything in the (t,y) coordinate system. My...
  21. A

    Uniform circular motion and coordinate system

    2. In the figure below the particle P is in uniform circular motion. The motion is centered on the origin of an xy coordinate system. (a) At what values of \vartheta is the vertical component r_{y} of the position vector greatest in magnitude? (b) At what values of \vartheta is the...
  22. S

    Undergrad Distance between two points in polar coordinate system.

    Guys, Any ideas on how to calculate distance between two points in Polar coordinate system without converting their coordinates to Cartesian? Ps. I know that if I converted from Polar (r, t) to Cartesian (x, y) by x = r.cos(t), y = r.sin(t), then the distance between two points would be d =...
  23. F

    Graduate Does Every Coordinate System Admit Local Othornormal Basis Vectors

    I wonder if there are coordinate systems that gobally curve and twist and turn and curl, that do NOT admit local orthonormal basis. I know that the Gram-Schmidt procedure converts ANY set of linear independent vectors into an orthnormal set that can be used as local basis vectors. And I assume...
  24. J

    How Do You Determine the Limits for r and θ in a Cylindrical Coordinate System?

    What are the r and θ limits for the triple integral of y where there's a parabloid cylinder x=y^2 and planes x+z=1 and z=0? I rearranged x+z=1 to get z=1-x => so 1-rcosθ; 0 ≤ z ≤ 1-rcosθ but I don't know how to get the limits for θ or r. How do I do this?
  25. S

    Undergrad Mass on a spring question - coordinate system?

    Greetings, Regarding a mass on a spring – I know the classic differential equation is m \frac {dx^2(t)}{dt^2} + B \frac {dx(t)}{dt} + kx = f(t) F(t) = outside force applied B = damping coefficient “X” is in the vertical direction and +x direction is down. In reading I have...
  26. P

    Coordinate system for specifying the precise location of objects in space?

    Homework Statement which of the following is a coordinate system for specifying the precise location of objects in space? a. frame of reference b. diagram c. x-axis d. y-axis Homework Equations The Attempt at a Solution I thought it would be a diagram since it would use vectors...
  27. E

    Right-handed coordinate system

    Homework Statement Can someone give me a real rigorous definition of what a right-handed coordinate system is? I can't find one on the internet. Is this true: A coordinate system is right-handed IF AND ONLY IF x-hat cross y-hat = z-hat ? Homework Equations The Attempt at a...
  28. G

    What does the equation xyz=0 represent in the region of R^3?

    Homework Statement Describe in words the region of R^3 represented by the equation or inequality. Homework Equations xyz=0 The Attempt at a Solution I'm not really sure how to look at the equation. I would think its just the point (0,0,0). Can someone explain if this is wrong.
  29. C

    Graduate Calculating Offsets on the Normal Coordinate System

    I have problem with getting normal coordinates offset. I have cube1 and cube2. cube1 position is 10,10,10 and cube2 position is 10,9,10. Cube 2 offset refers to local coordinate system of cube1. If rotation of cube1 is 0,0,0 i get position offset 0,-1,0. But if cube1 rotation is 45,0,0 i get...
  30. T

    Relative Velocity coordinate system

    (a) A point is observed to have velocity v_A relative to coordinate system A . What is its velocity to coordinate system B which is displaced from system A by distance R ? ( R can change in time) I think its v_B = v_A - \frac{dR}{dt} . But I am not completely sure why this is the...
  31. S

    Graduate Divergence in cylindrical coordinate system

    I am trying to understand the derivation of the divergence formula in cylindrical coordinates. www.csupomona.edu/~ajm/materials/delcyl.pdf paper does a good job of explaining it but I don't understand 2 things that the author does. \frac{\partial\hat{\rho}}{\partial\phi} = \hat{\phi} and...
  32. S

    Graduate General Orthogonal Coordinate System: Line Element Explained

    A general orthogonal coordinate system (u,v,w) will have a line elemet of the form: ds^2 = f^2 du^2 + g^2dv^2 + h^2dw^2 I have done a lot of vector calculus, but for some reason I can't figure out what this means! What is a line element? I know about the differential length element and its...
  33. H

    Graduate Locacal coordinate system in GR observed?

    Local coordinate system in GR observed. If one considers coordinate systems in General Relativity. I think, if I understand it well enough, that in GR space & time and or in space-time a coordinate system depends on locality, e.g. on an average distance between galaxies an the total amount...
  34. T

    Graduate Superellipse and a good coordinate system

    Hello guys, at the link http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Superellipse.html you can find the definition of superellipse. Now consider the particular super ellipse \frac{x^{2n}}{A^{2n}} +\frac{y^{2n}}{B^{2n}} = 1 In which A,B, are constant and n is a positive integer. What is the...
  35. T

    Graduate Closed curve and orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system

    Hello, I have a "simple" problem for you guys. I am not expert in math and so try to be simple. I explain the problem by starting with one example. The polar coordinate system has the following main property: with two parameters, rho and theta, each point is described as the intersection of...
  36. A

    Frame of Reference vs. Coordinate System

    What is the difference between a frame of refernce and a coordinate system. For example, I know that a rotating frame of reference is non-intertial, but is this also a non-intertial coordinate system? Thanks.
  37. B

    Graduate Dynamics, polar coordinate system

    i have been set the following question theta = 3r^2 find the magnitude of the acceleration when r=0.8 m dr/dt = 4ms^-1 d^2r/dt^2 = 12 ms^-2 my working followed the process of calculating angular velocity with these conditions and angular acceleration with these conditions then...
  38. Z

    High School What is coordinate system and how to find angles b/w lines

    hi i want to know what is cordinate system and how to find angle b/w two connected lines
  39. M

    Undergrad Rotating a Vector in a Coordinate System: Explaining the Formula

    Say, i have a vector a, defined in a coordinate system, x-y-z and i rotate the axes by an angle theta around the z-axis, so i have my z-component invariant in this change of basis. Can someone show me why, a_x' = a_x cos\theta + a_y sin\theta and a_x' = -a_x sin\theta + a_y cos\theta...
  40. B

    Convenient Coordinate System for Dog, Acrobat, and Submarine Analysis

    Identify a convenient coordiante system for analyzing each of the followling situations: A. a dog walking along a sidewalk B. an acrobat walking along a high wire C. a submarine submerging at an angle of 30 degrees to the horizontal. This should be rather easy, it was number one of the...
  41. E

    Graduate Help with accelerated coordinate system question

    Ok, so if a ball is thrown vertically upward with velocity v on the Earth's surface. (Air resistance being neglected). I have to show that the ball lands a distance (4wsin(beta)v^3/3g^2) to the west where w is the angular velocity of the Earth's rotation and beta is the colatitude angle...
  42. Y

    Undergrad Different coordinate system to sketch (x-2y)=sin(pi(x+y))

    can anyone teach me how to use a different coordinate system to sketch the graph of (x-2y)=sin(pi(x+y)). i have totally no idea