Spherical vectors and rotation of axes

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on transforming velocity vectors in spherical coordinates when the north pole of the sphere is rotated. The user has a velocity vector V(lambda, phi) in the original coordinate system and seeks to find the corresponding vector V'(lambda, phi) in the new system. It is confirmed that to achieve this, one must differentiate the transformation matrix with respect to time and multiply it by the velocity vector. The rotation angle theta is defined using the law of cosines and sines, which aids in constructing the rotation matrix for the transformation.

PREREQUISITES
  • Spherical coordinate systems
  • Transformation matrices
  • Differentiation in vector calculus
  • Law of cosines and sines
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the construction of rotation matrices in three-dimensional space
  • Learn about differentiating transformation matrices with respect to time
  • Explore the application of spherical coordinates in physics
  • Investigate the implications of rotating coordinate systems in vector analysis
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Mathematicians, physicists, and engineers working with rotational dynamics and spherical coordinate transformations will benefit from this discussion.

meteo student
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I have a velocity vector as a function of a latitude and longitude on the surface of a sphere. Let us assume I have a point V(lambda, phi) where V is the velocity. The north pole of this sphere is rotated and I have a new north pole and I have a point V'(lambda, phi) in the new system. I have the transformation matrix between the unrotated system and rotated system in terms of a position defined in terms of lambda and phi.
Rather than just multiplying the rotation matrix by this transformation matrix I must differentiate the components of the transformation matrix with respect to time and multiply that result by the column vector containing the velocities. Is that correct ?
 
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What does this mean:
meteo student said:
The north pole of this sphere is rotated and I have a new north pole
Are you just wanting to find the coordinates of the velocity vector in a new spherical coordinate system that arises from a rotation of the axes of the original spherical coordinate system around a line through the origin of the original system?
 
Yes exactly.

I have velocities in the unrotated frame with respect to a geographical north pole of the earth. I have also been given the position of a point in the unrotated frame as well the origin of the rotated north pole.

I have defined theta the rotation angle in terms of the coordinates of a position in the unrotated frame and rotated frame using law of cosines/sines. Now all I need to do is construct the rotation matrix and multiply the velocities ?
 
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