How do I parametrize a conical/cylindrical surface in cylindrical unit vectors?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the parametrization of conical and cylindrical surfaces using cylindrical unit vectors. Participants explore how to express these surfaces in terms of cylindrical coordinates and their relationship to Cartesian coordinates, focusing on the mathematical representations and transformations involved.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a parametrization for a cylindrical shell and a conical surface, expressing them in Cartesian coordinates.
  • Another participant questions how cylindrical coordinate unit vectors relate to Cartesian ones, emphasizing their coordinate dependence.
  • Some participants suggest using a transformation matrix to convert from Cartesian to cylindrical coordinates.
  • A participant notes that the position vector in cylindrical coordinates can be expressed in terms of the cylindrical basis vectors.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the need to express the surfaces in cylindrical coordinates, but there is no consensus on the best method to achieve this or on the relationship between the coordinate systems.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved aspects regarding the transformation from Cartesian to cylindrical coordinates and the specific expressions for the cylindrical unit vectors in terms of Cartesian ones.

Trollfaz
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Suppose I have a cylindrical shell of radius r, height h. I can easily express the surface as
$$(r cos(\theta)) i + (r sin(\theta)) j + t k$$
$$0<\theta<2π , 0<t<h$$
For a conical surface of base rad ρ and height h,
$$z=kr -> z=k, r=ρ$$
$$k=\frac{h}{ρ}$$
Then the surface is
$$ \frac {tρcos(\theta)}{h} i + \frac {tρsin(\theta)}{h} j + t k$$
$$0<\theta<2π , 0<t<h$$
But how do I parametrize the surfaces in ## s θ z## usual cylindrical unit vectors
 
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How are the cylinder coordinate unit vectors related to the usual Cartesian ones?
 
They are very different as cylindrical or spherical unit vectors are coordinate dependent
 
Trollfaz said:
They are very different as cylindrical or spherical unit vectors are coordinate dependent
Well, yes. But that does not really answer the question about how they are related to the Cartesian basis vectors, ie, how can you express the cylinder base vectors in terms of the Cartesian ones?
 
So you suggest doing in Cartesian vectors first then use the matrix to convert them to cylindrical vectors
 
You already have an expression that uses the Cartesian basis. All you need to do is to reexpress it in the cylinder basis.
 
The position vector in cylindrical polars is <br /> \mathbf{x}(r,\theta,z) = r \mathbf{e}_{r}(\theta) + z\mathbf{e}_z. You already have z = kr. or conversely r = z/k.
 
Orodruin said:
You already have an expression that uses the Cartesian basis. All you need to do is to reexpress it in the cylinder basis.
So you mean use that transformation matrix
 

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