Coordinate System - Change of Coordinates

Change of Coordinates

In geometry and kinematics, coordinate systems are used not only to describe the (linear) position of points, but also to describe the angular position of axes, planes, and rigid bodies. In the latter case, the orientation of a second (typically referred to as "local") coordinate system, fixed to the node, is defined based on the first (typically referred to as "global" or "world" coordinate system). For instance, the orientation of a rigid body can be represented by an orientation matrix, which includes, in its three columns, the Cartesian coordinates of three points. These points are used to define the orientation of the axes of the local system; they are the tips of three unit vectors aligned with those axes.

Read more about this topic:  Coordinate System

Famous quotes containing the words change of and/or change:

    The most advanced nations are always those who navigate the most. The power which the sea requires in the sailor makes a man of him very fast, and the change of shores and population clears his head of much nonsense of his wigwam.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    We used to think that revolutions are the cause of change. Actually it is the other way around: change prepares the ground for revolution.
    Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)