Finding Orthogonal Unit Vector to 3 Vectors

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To find a unit vector orthogonal to three given vectors, one can start by setting up equations based on the dot product conditions for orthogonality. The equations derived from the dot products with the vectors u, v, and w are established, leading to a system of linear equations. To solve this system, one approach is to assign a value to one variable, such as x1, and then solve for the others. After obtaining the vector, it is essential to normalize it to ensure it is a unit vector. This method effectively addresses the problem of finding an orthogonal unit vector to three vectors.
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Homework Statement
Let R4 have the Euclidean inner product. Find a unit vector with a positive first component that is orthogonal to all three of the following vectors.
Relevant Equations
u = (1,-1,6,0) v = (7,1,0,1) w = (1,0,4,1)
I'm having difficulties solving this. For finding a unit vector that is orthogonal to two unit vectors I understand we use the cross product and such. However, I am confused about how to approach this problem as it has a third vector.

We can let x = (x1, x2, x3, x4) be a vector orthogonal to u, v, and w.

We then have (x, u) = x1 - x2 + 6 x3 = 0,
(x, v) = 7x1 + x2 + x4 = 0,
and (x, w) = x1 + 4 x3 + x4 = 0.

I am just a little bit confused on where to go from here, would I be setting up a matrix? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
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You have set up all conditions for orthogonality. Now ##x_1>0## and ##\|x\|=1## are yet to guarantee. I would simply choose ##x_1=1##, solve the equation system and finally calculate ##\dfrac{x}{\|x\|}##.
 
Question: A clock's minute hand has length 4 and its hour hand has length 3. What is the distance between the tips at the moment when it is increasing most rapidly?(Putnam Exam Question) Answer: Making assumption that both the hands moves at constant angular velocities, the answer is ## \sqrt{7} .## But don't you think this assumption is somewhat doubtful and wrong?

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