Transformation matrix for components of acceleration

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SUMMARY

The transformation matrix is effective for converting position vectors but fails for acceleration vectors in spherical coordinates due to the time-varying nature of basis vectors. Specifically, the basis vector in the radial direction, represented as \hat{r}= \sin\theta\cos\phi\hat{x}+\sin\theta\sin\phi\hat{y}+\sin\theta\hat{z}, changes over time, complicating the transformation. The derivative of \hat{r} involves both angular rates \frac{d \theta}{dt} and \frac{d \phi}{dt}, indicating that a simple transformation matrix is insufficient for acceleration components.

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  • Knowledge of spherical coordinate systems
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  • Basic concepts of angular velocity and acceleration
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Hello
any body can find my mistake ?!
TO find the component of a vector in other coordinate we can use the transformation matrix :

http://up98.org/upload/server1/01/z/ff96m5hl2uahgjw3u2un.jpg

but why this does nt work for acceleration vector ?
i mean why i can't derive the component of acceleration in spherical coordinate by use of this matrix ?
thanks
 
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That matrix only transforms position vectors. In spherical coordinates, the basis vectors are changing with respect to time as well as the coefficients which means that the transformation is much more complicated.

If the basis vector in the r direction is
\hat{r}= \sin\theta\cos\phi\hat{x}+\sin\theta\sin\phi\hat{y}+\sin\theta\hat{z}

then,
\frac{d}{dt}\hat{r}=(\cos\theta\cos\phi\frac{d \theta}{dt}-\sin\theta\sin\phi\frac{d \phi}{dt})\hat{x}+(\cos\theta\sin\phi\frac{d \theta}{dt}+\sin\theta\cos\phi\frac{d \phi}{dt})\hat{y}+\cos\theta\frac{d \theta}{dt}\hat{z}

so, if the position of a particle is r(t)\hat{r} then its velocity is \frac{dr(t)}{dt}\hat{r}+r(t)\frac{d \hat{r}}{dt}.
 
Last edited:

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