Why Are Clockwise Moments Negative and Anti-Clockwise Moments Positive?

[Fiona Rozario]

Why are clockwise moments taken as negative and anti-clockwise moment as positive? Why not the other way around?

 

[UltrafastPED]

An arbitrary convention. But if you like the right-hand rule, you will find that your right thumb points up if your fingers are curled in the counter-clockwise direction.

Perhaps the clock makers are the ones with the wrong convention!

 

[Nathanael]

If you do it the other way around, you'll get the same answers (as long as you are consistent).

I actually sometimes do it the other way around (because when I visualize 3D coords, the Z axis goes out forward in front of me, so pointing my thumb in the positive direction makes my fingers curl clockwise)

So for my X and Y axes it's "the right hand rule" but for my Z axis, (in order to be consistent,) it's "the left hand rule"

(I could just flip my Z axis, but that's very unnatural to me, especially when the Z axis represents time)Like Ultrafast said, it's just a convention.I just wanted to point out that "the right hand rule" only works if you follow another arbitrary convention (the conventional positive/negative directions of each axis)

 

[sophiecentaur]

Do whatever you like as long as you are consistent.

 

[UltrafastPED]

Do whatever you like as long as you are consistent.

... and explain which convention you are using!