Concepts in Cordinate Geometry

Concepts in Cordinate
Geometry

Dr. K.N.P. Singh

ANMOL PUBLICATIONS PVT. LTD.
Regd. Office: 4360/4, Ansari Road,
Daryaganj,
New Delhi-110002 (India)
Tel.: 23278000, 23261597, 23286875, 23255577
Fax: 91-11-23280289
Email: [email protected]
Visit us at: www.anmolpublications.com
Branch Office: No. 1015, Ist Main Road,
BSK
IIIrd Stage
IIIrd Phase, IIIrd Block, Bengaluru-560 085
(India)
Tel.: 080-41723429 • Fax: 080-26723604
Email: [email protected]

Concepts In Coordinate Geometry

© Reserved
First Edition, 2013
ISBN: 9788126154043
 Contents

Preface
1. Coordinate System
2. Alternate Viewpoints
3. Polar Coordinate System
4. Homogeneous Coordinates
5. Affine Coordinate System
6. Orthogonal Coordinates
7. Quadratic Equation
8. Notation and Terminology
9. Topological and Analytic Structure
Bibliography
 Preface

The reduction of geometry to algebra requires the notion of a

transformation group. The transformation group supplies two essential
ingredients. First it is used to define the notion of equivalence in the
geometry in question. For example, in Euclidean geometry, two triangles are
congruent if there is distance preserving transformation carrying one to the
other and they are similar if there is a similarity transformation carrying one
to the other. Secondly, in each kind of geometry there are normal form
theorems which can be used to simplify coordinate proofs. In analytic
geometry, the plane is given a coordinate system, by which every point has a
pair of real number coordinates. The most common coordinate system to use
is the Cartesian coordinate system, where each point has an x-coordinate
representing its horizontal position, and a y-coordinate representing its
vertical position. These are typically written as an ordered pair (x, y). This
system can also be used for three-dimensional geometry, where every point
in Euclidean space is represented by an ordered triple of coordinates (x, y, z).
Other coordinate systems are possible. On the plane the most common
alternative is polar coordinates, where every point is represented by itsradius
r from the origin and its angle è. In three dimensions, common alternative
coordinate systems include cylindrical coordinates and spherical coordinates.
Transformations are applied to parent functions to turn it into a new
function with similar characteristics. For example, the parent function y=1/x
has a horizontal and a vertical asymptote, and occupies the first and third
quadrant, and all of its transformed forms have one horizontal and vertical
asymptote, and occupies either the 1st and 3rd or 2nd and 4th quadrant. In
general, if y = f(x), then it can be transformed into y = af(b(x – k)) + h. In the
new transformed function, a is the factor that vertically stretches the function
if it is greater than 1 or vertically compresses the function if it is less than 1,
and for negative a values, the function is reflected in the x-axis. The b value
compresses the graph of the function horizontally if greater than 1 and
stretches the function horizontally if less than 1, and like a, reflects the
function in the y-axis when it is negative. The k and h values introduce
translations, h, vertical, and k horizontal. Positive h and k values mean the
function is translated to the positive end of its axis and negative meaning
translation towards the negative end. One type of intersection which is widely
studied is the intersection of a geometric object with the x and y coordinate
axes. The intersection of a geometric object and the y-axis is called the y-
intercept of the object. The intersection of a geometric object and the x-axis is
called the x-intercept of the object.For the line y=mx+b, the parameter b
specifies the point where the line crosses the y axis. Depending on the
context, either b or the point (0,b) is called the y-intercept.
The book provides the students current information on the different areas
of this subject. The publication is useful not only to the students but also to
the research scholars and academic professionals.

—Editor
 1: Coordinate System

In geometry, a coordinate system is a system which uses one or more

numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely determine the position of a point or
other geometric element on a manifold such as Euclidean space. The order of
the coordinates is significant and they are sometimes identified by their
position in an ordered tuple and sometimes by a letter, as in ‘the x-
coordinate’. In elementary mathematics the coordinates are taken to be real
numbers, but may be complex numbers or elements of a more abstract system
such as a commutative ring. The use of a coordinate system allows problems
in geometry to be translated into problems about numbers and vice versa; this
is the basis of analytic geometry.
An example in everyday use is the system of assigning longitude and
latitude to geographical locations. In physics, a coordinate system used to
describe points in space is called a frame of reference.

Number Line
In basic mathematics, a number line is a picture of a straight line on
which every point is assumed to correspond to a real number and every real
number to a point. Often the integers are shown as specially-marked points
evenly spaced on the line. Although this image only shows the integers from
-9 to 9, the line includes all real numbers, continuing forever in each
direction, and also numbers not marked that are between the integers. It is
often used as an aid in teaching simple addition and subtraction, especially
involving negative numbers.

It is divided into two symmetric halves by the origin, i.e. the number
zero.
In advanced mathematics, the expressions real number line, or real line
are typically used to indicate the above-mentioned concept that every point
on a straight line corresponds to a single real number, and vice versa.
Drawing the Number Line
The number line is usually represented as being horizontal. Customarily,
positive numbers lie on the right side of zero, and negative numbers lie on the
left side of zero. An arrowhead on either end of the drawing is meant to
suggest that the line continues indefinitely in the positive and negative real
numbers, denoted by ℝ. The real numbers consist of irrational numbers and
rational numbers, as well as the integers, whole numbers, and the natural
numbers (the counting numbers).
A line drawn through the origin at right angles to the real number line
can be used to represent the imaginary numbers. This line, called imaginary
line, extends the number line to a complex number plane, with points
representing complex numbers.

Cartesian Coordinate System

Figure: Illustration of a Cartesian coordinate plane. Four points are marked and labeled with their
coordinates: (2, 3) in green, (-3, 1) in red, (-1.5, - 2.5) in blue, and the origin (0, 0) in purple.
A Cartesian coordinate system specifies each point uniquely in a plane
by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances from the
point to two fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the same unit of
length. Each reference line is called a coordinate axis or just axis of the
system, and the point where they meet is its origin, usually at ordered pair
(0,0).
The coordinates can also be defined as the positions of the perpendicular
projections of the point onto the two axes, expressed as signed distances from
the origin.
One can use the same principle to specify the position of any point in
three-dimensional space by three Cartesian coordinates, its signed distances
to three mutually perpendicular planes (or, equivalently, by its perpendicular
projection onto three mutually perpendicular lines).
In general, one can specify a point in a space of any dimension n by use
of n Cartesian coordinates, the signed distances from n mutually
perpendicular hyperplanes.

Figure: Cartesian coordinate system with a circle of radius 2 centreed at the origin marked in red. The
equation of a circle is (x – a)2 + (y – b)2 = r2 where a and b are the coordinates of the centre (a, b) and
r is the radius.
The invention of Cartesian coordinates in the 17th century by René
Descartes (Latinized name: Cartesius) revolutionized mathematics by
providing the first systematic link between Euclidean geometry and algebra.
Using the Cartesian coordinate system, geometric shapes (such as curves) can
be described by Cartesian equations: algebraic equations involving the
coordinates of the points lying on the shape. For example, a circle of radius 2
may be described as the set of all points whose coordinates x and y satisfy the
equation x2 + y2 = 4.
Cartesian coordinates are the foundation of analytic geometry, and
provide enlightening geometric interpretations for many other branches of
mathematics, such as linear algebra, complex analysis, differential geometry,
multivariate calculus, group theory, and more.
A familiar example is the concept of the graph of a function. Cartesian
coordinates are also essential tools for most applied disciplines that deal with
geometry, including astronomy, physics, engineering, and many more.
They are the most common coordinate system used in computer
graphics, computer-aided geometric design, and other geometry-related data
processing.
History
The adjective Cartesian refers t o th e Fr en c h math em at ic ian an d
philosopher René Descartes (who used the name Cartesius in Latin). The
idea of this system was developed in 1637 in writings by Descartes and
independently by Pierre de Fermat, although Fermat also worked in three
dimensions, and did not publish the discovery. Both authors used a single
axis in their treatments and have a variable length measured in reference to
this axis.
The concept of using a pair of axes was introduced in later work by
commentators who were trying to clarify the ideas contained in Descartes’ La
Géométrie.
The development of the Cartesian coordinate system would play an
intrinsic role in the development of the calculus by Isaac Newton and
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. Nicole Oresme, a French cleric and friend of the
dauphin (later to become King Charles V) of the 14th Century, used
constructions similar to Cartesian coordinates well before the time of
Descartes and Fermat.
Many other coordinate systems have been developed since Descartes,
such as the polar coordinates for the plane, and the spherical and cylindrical
coordinates for three-dimensional space.

Definitions
Number Line
Choosing a Cartesian coordinate system for a one-dimensional space—
that is, for a straight line—means choosing a point O of the line (the origin), a
unit of length, and an orientation for the line. An orientation chooses which
of the two half-lines determined by O is the positive, and which is negative;
we then say that the line “is oriented” (or “points”) from the negative half
towards the positive half. Then each point p of the line can be specified by its
distance from O, taken with a + or “ sign depending on which half-line
contains p.
A line with a chosen Cartesian system is called a number line. Every real
number, whether integer, rational, or irrational, has a unique location on the
line. Conversely, every point on the line can be interpreted as a number in an
ordered continuum which includes the real numbers.
Cartesian Coordinates in Two Dimensions
The modern Cartesian coordinate system in two dimensions (also called
a rectangular coordinate system) is defined by an ordered pair of
perpendicular lines (axes), a single unit of length for both axes, and an
orientation for each axis. (Early systems allowed “oblique” axes, that is, axes
that did not meet at right angles.) The lines are commonly referred to as the x
and y-axes where the x-axis is taken to be horizontal and the y-axis is taken to
be vertical.
The point where the axes meet is taken as the origin for both, thus
turning each axis into a number line. For a given point P, a line is drawn
through P perpendicular to the x-axis to meet it at X and second line is drawn
through P perpendicular to the y-axis to meet it at Y. The coordinates of P are
then X and Y interpreted as numbers x and y on the corresponding number
lines. The coordinates are written as an ordered pair (x, y).
The point where the axes meet is the common origin of the two number
lines and is simply called the origin. It is often labeled O and if so then the
axes are called Ox and Oy. A plane with x and y-axes defined is often referred
to as the Cartesian plane or xy plane. The value of x is called the x-coordinate
or abscissa and the value of y is called the y-coordinate or ordinate.
The choices of letters come from the original convention, which is to use
the latter part of the alphabet to indicate unknown values. The first part of the
alphabet was used to designate known values.
In the Cartesian plane, reference is sometimes made to a unit circle or a
unit hyperbola.
Cartesian Coordinates in Three Dimensions
 Figure: A three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, with origin O and axis lines X, Y and Z,
oriented as shown by the arrows. The tick marks on the axes are one length unit apart. The black dot
shows the point with coordinates X = 2, Y = 3, and Z = 4, or (2,3,4).
Choosing a Cartesian coordinate system for a three-dimensional space
means choosing an ordered triplet of lines (axes), any two of them being
perpendicular; a single unit of length for all three axes; and an orientation for
each axis. As in the two-dimensional case, each axis becomes a number line.
The coordinates of a point p are obtained by drawing a line through p
perpendicular to each coordinate axis, and reading the points where these
lines meet the axes as three numbers of these number lines.
Alternatively, the coordinates of a point p can also be taken as the
(signed) distances from p to the three planes defined by the three axes. If the
axes are named x, y, and z, then the x coordinate is the distance from the
plane defined by the y and z axes. The distance is to be taken with the + or “
sign, depending on which of the two half-spaces separated by that plane
contains p. The y and z coordinates can be obtained in the same way from the
(x,z) and (x,y) planes, respectively.
Figure: The coordinate surfaces of the Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z). The z-axis is vertical and the x-
axis is highlighted in green. Thus, the red plane shows the points with x=1, the blue plane shows the
points with z=1, and the yellow plane shows the points with y=-1. The three surfaces intersect at the
point P (shown as a black sphere) with the Cartesian coordinates (1, -1, 1).

Generalizations
One can generalize the concept of Cartesian coordinates to allow axes
that are not perpendicular to each other, and/or different units along each
axis. In that case, each coordinate is obtained by projecting the point onto one
axis along a direction that is parallel to the other axis (or, in general, to the
hyperplane defined by all the other axes). In those oblique coordinate systems
the computations of distances and angles is more complicated than in
standard Cartesian systems, and many standard formulas (such as the
Pythagorean formula for the distance) do not hold.
Notations and Conventions
The Cartesian coordinates of a point are usually written in parentheses
and separated by commas, as in (10,5) or (3,5,7). The origin is often labelled
with the capital letter O. In analytic geometry, unknown or generic
coordinates are often denoted by the letters x and y on the plane, and x, y, and
z in three-dimensional space. w is often used for four-dimensional space, but
the rarity of such usage precludes concrete convention here. This custom
comes from an old convention of algebra, to use letters near the end of the
alphabet for unknown values (such as were the coordinates of points in many
geometric problems), and letters near the beginning for given quantities.
These conventional names are often used in other domains, such as
physics and engineering. However, other letters may be used too. For
example, in a graph showing how a pressure varies with time, the graph
coordinates may be denoted t and P. Each axis is usually named after the
coordinate which is measured along it; so one says the x-axis, the y-axis, the
t-axis, etc.
Another common convention for coordinate naming is to use subsc rip ts,
as in x1, x2, ... xn for th e n coordinates in an n-dimensional sp ac e; espec
ially wh en n is greater than 3, or variab le. Some authors (and many
programmers) prefer the numbering x0, x1, ... xn-1. These notations are
especially advantageous in computer programming: by storing the
coordinates of a point as an array, instead of a record, one can use iterative
commands or procedure parametres instead of repeating the same commands
for each coordinate.
In mathematical illustrations of two-dimensional Cartesian systems, the
first coordinate (traditionally called the abscissa) is measured along a
horizontal axis, oriented from left to right. The second coordinate (the
ordinate) is then measured along a vertical axis, usually oriented from bottom
to top.
However, in computer graphics and image processing one often uses a
coordinate system with the y axis pointing down (as displayed on the
computer’s screen). This convention developed in the 1960s (or earlier) from
the way that images were originally stored in display buffers.
For three-dimensional systems, the z axis is often shown vertical and
pointing up (positive up), so that the x and y axes lie on a horizontal plane. If
a diagram (3D projection or 2D perspective drawing) shows the x and y axis
horizontally and vertically, respectively, then the z axis should be shown
pointing “out of the page” towards the viewer or camera. In such a 2D
diagram of a 3D coordinate system, the z axis would appear as a line or ray
pointing down and to the left or down and to the right, depending on the
presumed viewer or camera perspective. In any diagram or display, the
orientation of the three axes, as a whole, is arbitrary. However, the orientation
of the axes relative to each other should always comply with the right-hand
rule, unless specifically stated otherwise. All laws of physics and math
assume this right-handedness, which ensures consistency. For 3D diagrams,
the names “abscissa” and “ordinate” are rarely used for x and y, respectively.
When they are, the z-coordinate is sometimes called the applicate.
The words abscissa, ordinate and applicate are sometimes used to refer
to coordinate axes rather than values.
 Octant (Solid Geometry)
An octant in solid geometry is one of the eight divisions of a Euclidean
three-dimensional coordinate system defined by the signs of the coordinates.
It is similar to the two-dimensional quadrant and the one-dimensional ray.
The generalization of an octant is called orthant.
Numbering]

Figure: For z > 0, the octants have the same numbers as the corresponding quadrants in the plane.
Usually, the octant with all three positive coordinates is referred to as the
first octant. There is no generally used naming convention for the other seven
octants.
Number Name x y z Octal Octal
(+=0) (+=1)
I top-front-right + + + 0 7
II top-back-right – + + 4 3
III top-back-left – – + 6 1
IV top-front-left + – + 2 5
V bottom-front- + + – 1 6
right
VI bottom-back- – + – 5 2
 right
VII bottom-back- – – – 7 0
left
VIII bottom-front- + – – 3 4
left

Quadrant (plane geometry)

Figure: The four quadrants of a Cartesian coordinate system.

The axes of a two-dimensional Cartesian system divide the plane into
four infinite regions, called quadrants, each bounded by two half-axes.
These are often numbered from 1st to 4th and denoted by Roman
numerals: I (where the signs of the two coordinates are I (+,+), II (-,+), III (-
,”), and IV (+,-). When the axes are drawn according to the mathematical
custom, the numbering goes counterclockwise starting from the upper right
(“northeast”) quadrant.
Cartesian Space
A Euclidean plane with a chosen Cartesian system is called a Cartesian
plane Since Cartesian coordinates are unique and non-ambiguous, the points
of a Cartesian plane can be identified with all possible pairs of real numbers;
that is with the Cartesian product ℝ2 = ℝ×ℝ, where ℝ is the set of all reals. In
the same way one defines a Cartesian space of any dimension n, whose points
can be identified with the tuples (lists) of n real numbers, that is, with ℝn.

Cartesian Formulas for the Plane

Distance Between Two Points
The Euclidean distance between two points of the plane with Cartesian
coordinates (x1,y1)and (x2,y2)is

This is the Cartesian version of Pythagoras’ theorem. In three-

dimensional space, the distance between points (x1,y1,z1) and (x2 , y2 ,z2 ) is

which can be obtained by two consecutive applications of Pythagoras’

theorem.
Euclidean Transformations
The Euclidean transformations or Euclidean motions are the (bijective)
mappings of points of the Euclidean plane to themselves which preserve
distances between points. There are four types of these mappings (also called
isometries): translations, rotations, reflections and glide reflections.
Translation
Translating a set of points of the plane, preserving the distances and
directions between them, is equivalent to adding a fixed pair of numbers (a,b)
to the Cartesian coordinates of every point in the set. That is, if the original
coordinates of a point are (x,y), after the translation they will be
(x′,y′) =(x + a,y + b).
Rotation
To rotate a figure counterclockwise around the origin by some angle θis
equivalent to replacing every point with coordinates (x,y) by the point with
coordinates (x’,y’), where
x′ = xcosθ-ysinθ
y′ = xsin θ + ycosθ.
 Thus: (x′,y′)=((xcosθ-ysin θ ),(xsin θ + ycosθ)).
Reflection
If (x, y) are the Cartesian coordinates of a point, then (-x, y) are the
coordinates of its reflection across the second coordinate axis (the Y axis), as
if that line were a mirror.
Likewise, (x, -y) are the coordinates of its reflection across the first
coordinate axis (the X axis).
In more generality, reflection across a line through the origin making an
angle θ with the x-axis, is equivalent to replacing every point with
coordinates (x,y) by the point with coordinates (x’,y’), where
x = x cos 2θ + y sin 2θ
y′ = xsin2θ-ycos2θ.
Thus: (x′,y′)=((xcos2θ + ysin2θ),(xsin2θ-ycos2θ)).
Glide Reflection
A glide reflection is the composition of a reflection across a line
followed by a translation in the direction of that line. It can be seen that the
order of these operations does not matter (the translation can come first,
followed by the reflection).
General Matrix Form of the Transformations
These Euclidean transformations of the plane can all be described in a
uniform way by using matrices. The result (x′, y′) of applying a Euclidean
transformation to a point (x, y) is given by the formula

where A is a 2×2 orthogonal matrix and b = (b1, b2) is an arbitrary ordered

pair of numbers; that is,

[Note the use of row vectors for point coordinates and that the matrix is
written on the right.]
 To be orthogonal, the matrix A must have orthogonal rows with same
Euclidean length of one, that is,

This is equivalent to saying that A times its transpose must be the identity
matrix. If these conditions do not hold, the formula describes a more general
affine transformation of the plane provided that the determinant of A is not
zero.
The formula defines a translation if and only if A is the identity matrix.
The transformation is a rotation around some point if and only if A is a
rotation matrix, meaning that
A11 A22 - A21A12 = 1.
A reflection or glide reflection is obtained when,
A11 A22 - A21A12 = -1.
Assuming that translation is not used transformations can be combined
by simply multiplying the associated transformation matrices.
Affine Transformation
Another way to represent coordinate transformations in Cartesian
coordinates is through affine transformations.
In affine transformations an extra dimension is added and all points are
given a value of 1 for this extra dimension.
The advantage of doing this is that then all of the euclidean
transformations become linear transformations and can be represented using
matrix multiplication.
The affine transformation is given by:

[Note the A matrix from above was transposed. The matrix is on the left
and column vectors for point coordinates are used.]
Using affine transformations multiple different euclidean transformations
including translation can be combined by simply multiplying the
corresponding matrices.
Scaling
An example of an affine transformation which is not a Euclidean motion
is given by scaling.
To make a figure larger or smaller is equivalent to multiplying the
Cartesian coordinates of every point by the same positive number m.
If (x,y) are the coordinates of a point on the original figure, the
corresponding point on the scaled figure has coordinates
(x′,y′) = (mx,my).
If m is greater than 1, the figure becomes larger; if m is between 0 and 1,
it becomes smaller.
Shearing
A shearing transformation will push the top of a square sideways to form
a parallelogram.
Horizontal shearing is defined by:
(x′,y′) = (x + ys,y)
Shearing can also be applied vertically:
(x′,y′) = (x,xs + y)

Orientation (Vector Space)

Figure: The left-handed orientation is shown on the left, and the right-handed on the right.
In mathematics, orientation is a geometric notion that in two dimensions
allows one to say when a cycle goes around clockwise or counterclockwise,
and in three dimensions when a figure is left-handed or right-handed. In
linear algebra, the notion of orientation makes sense in arbitrary dimensions.
In this setting, the orientation of an ordered basis is a kind of asymmetry
that makes a reflection impossible to replicate by means of a simple rotation.
Thus, in three dimensions, it is impossible to make the left hand of a human
figure into the right hand of the figure by applying a rotation alone, but it is
possible to do so by reflecting the figure in a mirror.
As a result, in the three-dimensional Euclidean space, the two possible
basis orientations are called right-handed and left-handed (or right-chiral and
left-chiral).
The orientation on a real vector space is the arbitrary choice of which
ordered bases are “positively” oriented and which are “negatively” oriented.
In the three-dimensional Euclidean space, right-handed bases are
typically declared to be positively oriented, but the choice is arbitrary, as they
may also be assigned a negative orientation.
A vector space with an orientation is called an oriented vector space,
while one without a choice of orientation is called unoriented.
Definition
Let V be a finite-dimensional real vector space and let b 1 and b 2 be two
ordered bases for V. It is a standard result in linear algebra that there exists a
unique linear transformation A : V → V that takes b 1 to b2. The bases b 1 and
b 2 are said to have the same orientation (or be consistently oriented) if A has
positive determinant; otherwise they have opposite orientations.
The property of having the same orientation defines an equivalence
relation on the set of all ordered bases for V. If V is non-zero, there are
precisely two equivalence classes determined by this relation. An orientation
on V is an assignment of +1 to one equivalence class and -1 to the other.
Every ordered basis lives in one equivalence class or another. Thus any
choice of a privileged ordered basis for V determines an orientation: the
orientation class of the privileged basis is declared to be positive.
For example, the standard basis on Rn provides a standard orientation on
Rn (in turn, the orientation of the standard basis depends on the orientation of
the Cartesian coordinate system on which it is built). Any choice of a linear
isomorphism between V and Rn will then provide an orientation on V.
The ordering of elements in a basis is crucial. Two bases with a different
ordering will differ by some permutation. They will have the same/opposite
orientations according to whether the signature of this permutation is ±1.
This is because the determinant of a permutation matrix is equal to the
signature of the associated permutation.
Similarly, let A be a nonsingular linear mapping of vector space Rn to
Rn. This mapping is orientation-preserving if its determinant is positive. For
instance, in R3 a rotation around the Z Cartesian axis by an angle α is
orientation-preserving:

while a reflection by the XY Cartesian plane is not orientation-preserving:

Zero-dimensional Case
The concept of orientation defined above did not quite apply to zero-
dimensional vector spaces (as the only empty matrix is the identity (with
determinant 1), so there will be only one equivalence class). However, it is
useful to be able to assign different orientations to a point (e.g. orienting the
boundary of a 1-dimensional manifold).
A more general definition of orientation that works regardless of
dimension is the following:
An orientation on V is a map from the set of ordered bases of V to the set
{±1} that is invariant under base changes with positive determinant and
changes sign under base changes with negative determinant (it is equivarient
with respect to the homomorphism GLn → ±1 ). The set of ordered bases of
the zero-dimensional vector space has one element (the empty set), and so
there are two maps from this set to {±1} .
A subtle point is that a zero-dimensional vector space is naturally
(canonically) oriented, so we can talk about an orientation being positive
(agreeing with the canonical orientation) or negative (disagreeing). An
application is interpreting the Fundamental theorem of calculus as a special
case of Stokes’ theorem.
Two ways of seeing this are:
• A zero-dimensional vector space is a point, and there is a unique map
from a point to a point, so every zero-dimensional vector space is
naturally identified with R0, and thus is oriented.
• The 0th exterior power of a vector space is the ground field , which
here is R1, which has an orientation (given by the standard basis).
 2: Alternate Viewpoints

Multilinear Algebra
For any n-dimensional real vector space V we can form the k th-exterior
power of V, denoted ΛkV. This is a real vector space of dimension . The
vector space ΛnV (called the top exterior power) therefore has dimension 1.
That is, Λ nV is just a real line. There is no a priori choice of which direction
on this line is positive. An orientation is just such a choice. Any nonzero
linear form ω on ËnV determines an orientation of V by declaring that x is in
the positive direction when ω(x) > 0. To connect with the basis point of view
we say that the positively oriented bases are those on which ω evaluates to a
positive number (since ω is an n-form we can evaluate it on an ordered set of
n vectors, giving an element of R). The form ω is called an orientation form.
If {ei} is a privileged basis for V and {e*} is the dual basis, then the
orientation form giving the standard orientation is
The connection of this with the determinant point of view is: the
determinant of an endomorphism T:V^V can be interpreted as the induced
action on the top exterior power.

Orientation on Manifolds
One can also discuss orientation on manifolds. Each point p on an n-
dimensional differentiable manifold has a tangent space T M which is an n-
dimensional real vector space. One can assign to each of these vector spaces
an orientation. However, one would like to know whether it is possible to
choose the orientations so that they “vary smoothly” from point to point. Due
to certain topological restrictions, there are situations when this is impossible.
A manifold which admits a smooth choice of orientations for its tangents
spaces is said to be orientable.
 Axes Conventions

Figure: Heading, elevation and bank angles (Z-Y’-X’’) for an aircraft. The aircraft’s pitch and yaw
axes Y and Z are not shown, and its fixed reference frame xyz has been shifted backwards from its
centre of gravity (preserving angles) for clarity. Axes named according to the air norm DIN 9300
Mobile objects are normally tracked from an external frame considered
fixed. Other frames can be defined on those mobile objects to deal with
relative positions for other objects. Finally, attitudes or orientations can be
described by a relationship between the external frame and the one defined
over the mobile object.
The orientation of a vehicle is normally referred to as attitude. It is
described normally by the orientation of a frame fixed in the body relative to
a fixed reference frame. The attitude is described by attitude coordinates, and
consists of at least three coordinates.
While from a geometrical point of view the different methods to describe
orientations are defined using only some reference frames, in engineering
applications it is important also to describe how these frames are attached to
the lab and the body in motion.
Due to the special importance of international conventions in air
vehicles, several organizations have published standards to be followed. For
example, German DIN has published the DIN 9300 norm for aircraft
(adopted by ISO as ISO 1151–2:1985).
Ground Reference Frames: ENU and NED
Basically, as lab frame or reference frame, there are two kinds of
conventions for the frames (sometimes named LVLH, local vertical, local
horizontal):
• East, North, Up, referred as ENU
• North, East, Down, referred as NED, used specially in aerospace
These frames are location dependent. For movements around the globe,
like air or sea navigation, the frames are defined as tangent to the lines of
coordinates.
• East-West tangent to parallels,
• North-South tangent to meridians, and
• Up-Down in the direction to the centre of the earth (when using a
spherical Earth simplification), or in the direction normal to the local
tangent plane (using an oblate spheroidal or geodetic ellipsoidal
model of the earth) which does not generally pass through the centre
of the Earth.

Figure: Earth Centred Earth Fixed and East, North, Up coordinates.

To establish a standard convention to describe attitudes, it is required to
establish at least the axes of the reference system and the axes of the rigid
body or vehicle.
When an ambiguous notation system is used (such as Euler angles) also
the used convention should be stated. Nevertheless most used notations
(matrices and quaternions) are unambiguous.
Tait–Bryan angles are often used to describe a vehicle’s attitude with
respect to a chosen reference frame, though any other notation can be used.
The positive x-axis in vehicles points always in the direction of movement.
For positive y- and z-axis, we have to face two different conventions:
 • In case of land vehicles like cars, tanks etc., which use the ENU-
system (East-North-Up) as external reference (world frame), the
vehicle’s positive y- or pitch axis always points to its left, and the
positive z- or yaw axis always points up.
• By contrast, in case of air and sea vehicles like submarines, ships,
airplanes etc., which use the NED-system (NorthEast-Down) as
external reference (world frame), the vehicle’s positive y- or pitch
axis always points to its right, and its positive z- or yaw axis always
points down.
• Finally, in case of space vehicles like space shuttles etc., a
modification of the latter convention is used, where the vehicle’s
positive y- or pitch axis again always points to its right, and its
positive z- or yaw axis always points down, but “down” now may
have two different meanings: If a so-called local frame is used as
external reference, its positive z-axis points “down” to the centre of
the earth as it does in case of the earlier mentioned NED-system, but
if the inertial frame is used as reference, its positive z-axis will point
now to the North Celestial Pole, and its positive x-axis to the Vernal
Equinox or some other reference meridian.

Frames Mounted on Vehicles

Specially for aircraft, these frames do not need to agree with the earth-
bound frames in the up-down line. It must be agreed what ENU and NED
mean in this context.
Conventions for Land Vehicles

Figure: RPY angles of cars and other land vehicles

 For land vehicles is rare to describe their complete orientation, except
when speaking about electronic stability control or satellite navigation. In this
case, the convention is normally the one of the adjacent drawing, where RPY
stands for roll-pitch-yaw.
Conventions for Sea Vehicles

Figure: RPY angles of ships and other sea vehicles

As well as aircraft, the same terminology is used for the motion of ships
and boats. It is interesting to note that some words commonly used were
introduced in maritime navigation. For example, the yaw angle or heading,
has a nautical origin, with the meaning of “bending out of the course”.
Etymologically, it is related with the verb ‘to go’. It is related to the concept
of bearing. It is typically assigned the shorthand notation .
Conventions for Aircraft Local Reference Frames
Coordinates to describe an aircraft attitude (Heading, Elevation and
Bank) are normally given relative to a reference control frame located in a
control tower, and therefore ENU, relative to the position of the control tower
on the earth surface. Coordinates to describe observations made from an
aircraft are normally given relative to its intrinsic axes, but normally using as
positive the coordinate pointing downwards, where the interesting points are
located. Therefore they are normally NED.
These axes are normally taken so that X axis is the longitudinal axis
pointing ahead, Z axis is the vertical axis pointing downwards, and the Y axis
is the lateral one, pointing in such a way that the frame is right handed. The
motion of an aircraft is often described in terms of rotation about these axes,
so rotation about the X-axis is called rolling, rotation about the Y-axis is
called pitching, and rotation about the Z-axis is called yawing.
Frames for Space Navigation
For satellites orbiting the earth it is normal to use the Equatorial
coordinate system. The projection of the Earth’s equator onto the celestial
sphere is called the celestial equator Similarly, the projections of the Earth’s
north and south geographic poles become the north and south celestial poles,
respectively Deep space satellites use other Celestial coordinate system, like
the Ecliptic coordinate system.
Conventions for Space Ships as Aircraft
If the goal is to keep the shuttle during its orbits in a constant attitude
with respect to the sky, e.g. in order to perform certain astronomical
observations, the preferred reference is the inertial frame, and the RPY angle
vector (0|0|0) describes an attitude then, where the shuttle’s wings are kept
permanently parallel to the earth’s equator, its nose points permanently to the
vernal equinox, and its belly towards the Northern polar star. (Note that
rockets and missiles more commonly follow the conventions for aircraft
where the RPY angle vector (0|0|0) points north, rather than towards the
vernal equinox).
On the other hand, if it’s the goal to keep the shuttle during its orbits in
an constant attitude with respect to the surface of the earth, the preferred
reference will be the local frame, with the RPY angle vector (0|0|0)
describing an attitude, where the shuttle’s wings are parallel to the earth’s
surface, its nose points to its heading, and its belly down towards the centre
of the earth.
Frames Used to Describe Attitudes
Normally the frames used to describe a vehicle’s local observations are
the same frames used to describe its attitude respect the ground tracking
stations. An important case in which this does not apply are aircraft. Aircraft
observations are performed downwards and therefore normally NED axes
convention applies. Nevertheless, when attitudes respect ground stations are
given, a relationship between the local earth-bound frame and the onboard
ENU frame is used.
 Right-hand Rule

Figure: Use of right hand

In mathematics and physics, the right-hand rule is a common mnemonic
for understanding notation conventions for vectors in 3 dimensions. It was
invented for use in electromagnetism by British physicist John Ambrose
Fleming in the late 19th century. When choosing three vectors that must be at
right angles to each other, there are two distinct solutions, so when
expressing this idea in mathematics, one must remove the ambiguity of which
solution is meant.
There are variations on the mnemonic depending on context, but all
variations are related to the one idea of choosing a convention.
Direction Associated with an Ordered Pair of Directions
One form of the right-hand rule is used in situations in which an ordered
operation must be performed on two vectors a and b that has a result which is
a vector c perpendicular to both a and b. The most common example is the
vector cross product. The right-hand rule imposes the following procedure for
choosing one of the two directions.

• a With the thumb, index, and middle fingers at right angles to each
other (with the index finger pointed straight), the middle finger points
in the direction of c when the thumb represents a and the index finger
represents b.
Other (equivalent) finger assignments are possible. For example, the first
(index) finger can represent a, the first vector in the product; the second
(middle) finger, b, the second vector; and the thumb, c, the product.
Direction Associated with a Rotation

Figure: Prediction of direction of field (B), given that the current I flows in the direction of the thumb

A different form of the right-hand rule, sometimes called the right-hand

grip rule or the corkscrew-rule or the right-hand thumb rule, is used in
situations where a vector must be assigned to the rotation of a body, a
magnetic field or a fluid. Alternatively, when a rotation is specified by a
vector, and it is necessary to understand the way in which the rotation occurs,
the right-hand grip rule is applicable.

Figure: The right-hand rule as applied to motion produced with screw threads
This version of the rule is used in two complementary applications of
Ampère’s circuital law:
1. An electric current passes through a solenoid, resulting in a magnetic
field. When you wrap your right hand around the solenoid with your
fingers in the direction of the conventional current, your thumb points
in the direction of the magnetic north pole.
2. An electric current passes through a straight wire. Here, the thumb
points in the direction of the conventional current (from positive to
negative), and the fingers point in the direction of the magnetic lines
of flux.
 The principle is also used to determine the direction of the torque vector.
If you grip the imaginary axis of rotation of the rotational force so that your
fingers point in the direction of the force, then the extended thumb points in
the direction of the torque vector. The right-hand grip rule is a convention
derived from the right-hand rule convention for vectors. When applying the
rule to current in a straight wire for example, the direction of the magnetic
field (counterclockwise instead of clockwise when viewed from the tip of the
thumb) is a result of this convention and not an underlying physical
phenomenon.
Applications
The first form of the rule is used to determine the direction of the cross
product of two vectors. This leads to widespread use in physics, wherever the
cross product occurs. A list of physical quantities whose directions are related
by the right-hand rule is given below. (Some of these are related only
indirectly to cross products, and use the second form.)
• The angular velocity of a rotating object and the rotational velocity of
any point on the object
• A torque, the force that causes it, and the position of the point of
application of the force
• A magnetic field, the position of the point where it is determined, and
the electric current (or change in electric flux) that causes it
• A magnetic field in a coil of wire and the electric current in the wire
• The force of a magnetic field on a charged particle, the magnetic field
itself, and the velocity of the object
• The vorticity at any point in the field of flow of a fluid
• The induced current from motion in a magnetic field (known as
Fleming’s right-hand rule)
• The x, y and z unit vectors in a Cartesian coordinate system can be
chosen to follow the right-hand rule. Right-handed coordinate
systems are often used in rigid body physics and kinematics.
 Figure: Fleming’s left-hand rule
Fleming’s left-hand rule is a rule for finding the direction of the thrust on
a conductor carrying a current in a magnetic field.
Left-hand Rule
In certain situations, it may be useful to use the opposite convention,
where one of the vectors is reversed and so creates a left-handed triad instead
of a right-handed triad. An example of this situation is for left-handed
materials.
Normally, for an electromagnetic wave, the electric and magnetic fields,
and the direction of propagation of the wave obey the right-hand rule.
However, left-handed materials have special properties, notably the negative
refractive index. It makes the direction of propagation point in the opposite
direction.
De Graaf’s translation of Fleming’s left-hand rule - which uses thrust,
field and current - and the right-hand rule, is the FBI rule. The FBI rule
changes thrust into F (Lorentz force), B (direction of the magnetic field) and I
(current).
The FBI rule is easily remembered by US citizens because of the
commonly known abbreviation for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Symmetry

In Two Dimensions
 Fixing or choosing the x-axis determines the y-axis up to direction.
Namely, the y-axis is necessarily the perpendicular to the x-axis through the
point marked 0 on the x-axis. But there is a choice of which of the two half
lines on the perpendicular to designate as positive and which as negative.
Each of these two choices determines a different orientation (also called
handedness) of the Cartesian plane.
The usual way of orienting the axes, with the positive x-axis pointing
right and the positive y-axis pointing up (and the x-axis being the “first” and
the y-axis the “second” axis) is considered the positive or standard
orientation, also called the right-handed orientation.
A commonly used mnemonic for defining the positive orientation is the
right hand rule. Placing a somewhat closed right hand on the plane with the
thumb pointing up, the fingers point from the x-axis to the y-axis, in a
positively oriented coordinate system. The other way of orienting the axes is
following the left hand rule, placing the left hand on the plane with the thumb
pointing up.
When pointing the thumb away from the origin along an axis, the
curvature of the fingers indicates a positive rotation along that axis.
Regardless of the rule used to orient the axes, rotating the coordinate system
will preserve the orientation. Switching any two axes will reverse the
orientation.
In Three Dimensions
Once the x- and y-axes are specified, they determine the line along which
the z-axis should lie, but there are two possible directions on this line. The
two possible coordinate systems which result are called ‘right-handed’ and
‘left-handed’. The standard orientation, where the xy-plane is horizontal and
the z-axis points up (and the x- and the y-axis form a positively oriented two-
dimensional coordinate system in the xy-plane if observed from above the xy-
plane) is called right-handed or positive.
The name derives from the right-hand rule. If the index finger of the
right hand is pointed forward, the middle finger bent inward at a right angle
to it, and the thumb placed at a right angle to both, the three fingers indicate
the relative directions of the x-, y-, and z-axes in a right-handed system. The
thumb indicates the x-axis, the index finger the y-axis and the middle finger
the z-axis. Conversely, if the same is done with the left hand, a left-handed
system results.
Figure 7 depicts a left and a right-handed coordinate system. Because a
three-dimensional object is represented on the two-dimensional screen,
distortion and ambiguity result. The axis pointing downward (and to the
right) is also meant to point towards the observer, whereas the “middle” axis
is meant to point away from the observer. The red circle is parallel to the
horizontal xy-plane and indicates rotation from the x-axis to the y-axis (in
both cases). Hence the red arrow passes in front of the z-axis. Figure is
another attempt at depicting a right-handed coordinate system. Again, there is
an ambiguity caused by projecting the three-dimensional coordinate system
into the plane. This corresponds to the two possible orientations of the
coordinate system. Thus the “correct” way to view is to imagine the x-axis as
pointing towards the observer and thus seeing a concave corner.
Representing a Vector in the Standard Basis
A point in space in a Cartesian coordinate system may also be
represented by a position vector, which can be thought of as an arrow
pointing from the origin of the coordinate system to the point. If the
coordinates represent spatial positions (displacements), it is common to
represent the vector from the origin to the point of interest as r. In two
dimensions, the vector from the origin to the point with Cartesian coordinates
(x, y) can be written as:
r = xi+yj
where i = (1,0) , and j = (0,1) are unit vectors in the direction of the x-axis
and y-axis respectively, generally referred to as the standard basis (in some
application areas these may also be referred t o a s ve r so r s ). S im i l ar l y,
in three d imensions, the vec tor fr om the origin to the point with Cartesian
coordinates ( x, y, z) can be written as:
r = xi+yj+zk
where k = (0,0,1) is the unit vector in the direction of the z-axis.
There is no natural interpretation of multiplying vectors to obtain
another vector that works in all dimensions, however there is a way to use
complex numbers to provide such a multiplication. In a two dimensional
cartesian plane, identify the point with coordinates (x, y) with the complex
number z = x + iy.
 Here, i is the complex number whose square is the real number “1 and is
identified with the point with coordinates (0,1), so it is not the unit vector in
the direction of the x-axis (this confusion is just an unfortunate historical
accident).
Since the complex numbers can be multiplied giving another complex
number, this identification provides a means to “multiply” vectors. In a three
dimensional cartesian space a similar identification can be made with a subset
of the quaternions.
Applications
Each axis may have different units of measurement associated with it
(such as kilograms, seconds, pounds, etc.). Although four-and higher-
dimensional spaces are difficult to visualize, the algebra of Cartesian
coordinates can be extended relatively easily to four or more variables, so
that certain calculations involving many variables can be done. (This sort of
algebraic extension is what is used to define the geometry of higher-
dimensional spaces.) Conversely, it is often helpful to use the geometry of
Cartesian coordinates in two or three dimensions to visualize algebraic
relationships between two or three of many non-spatial variables.
The graph of a function or relation is the set of all points satisfying that
function or relation. For a function of one variable, f, the set of all points (x,y)
where y = f(x) is the graph of the function f. For a function of two variables,
g, the set of all points (x,y,z) wher e z = g(x,y) is the graph of the function g.
A sketch of the graph of such a function or relation would consist of all the
salient parts of the function or relation which would include its relative
extrema, its concavity and points of inflection, any points of discontinuity
and its end behaviour. All of these terms are more fully defined in calculus.
Such graphs are useful in calculus to understand the nature and behaviour of
a function or relation.
Note that positions on a surface in navigation use latitude and longitude
in a similar two dimensional system. However the co-ordinates are written in
the opposite sequence, effectively (y,x).
 3: Polar Coordinate System

In mathematics, the polar coordinate system is a two-dimensional

coordinate system in which each point on a plane is determined by a distance
from a fixed point and an angle from a fixed direction.
The fixed point (analogous to the origin of a Cartesian system) is called
the pole, and the ray from the pole in the fixed direction is the polar axis. The
distance from the pole is called the radial coordinate or radius, and the angle
is the angular coordinate, polar angle, or azimuth.

Figure: Points in the polar coordinate system with pole O and polar axis L. In green, the point with
radial coordinate 3 and angular coordinate 60 degrees, or (3,60°). In blue, the point (4,210°).

History
The concepts of angle and radius were already used by ancient peoples
of the 1st millennium BCE. The Greek astronomer and astrologer Hipparchus
(190–120 BCE) created a table of chord functions giving the length of the
chord for each angle, and there are references to his using polar coordinates
in establishing stellar positions. In On Spirals, Archimedes describes the
Archimedean spiral, a function whose radius depends on the angle. The
Greek work, however, did not extend to a full coordinate system.
From the 8th century CE onward, astronomers developed methods for
approximating and calculating the direction to Makkah (qibla)—and its
distance—from any location on the Earth. From the 9th century onward they
were using spherical trigonometry and map projection methods to determine
these quantities accurately. The calculation is essentially the conversion of
the equatorial polar coordinates of Mecca (i.e. its longitude and latitude) to its
polar coordinates (i.e. its qibla and distance) relative to a system whose
reference meridian is the great circle through the given location and the
Earth’s poles, and whose polar axis is the line through the location and its
antipodal point.
There are various accounts of the introduction of polar coordinates as
part of a formal coordinate system. The full history of the subject is described
in Harvard professor Julian Lowell Coolidge’s Origin of Polar Coordinates.
Grégoire de Saint-Vincent and Bonaventura Cavalieri independently
introduced the concepts in the mid-seventeenth century. Saint-Vincent wrote
about them privately in 1625 and published his work in 1647, while Cavalieri
published his in 1635 with a corrected version appearing in 1653. Cavalieri
first used polar coordinates to solve a problem relating to the area within an
Archimedean spiral. Blaise Pascal subsequently used polar coordinates to
calculate the length of parabolic arcs.
In Method of Fluxions (written 1671, published 1736), Sir Isaac Newton
examined the transformations between polar coordinates, which he referred to
as the “Seventh Manner; For Spirals”, and nine other coordinate systems. In
the journal Acta Eruditorum (1691), Jacob Bernoulli used a system with a
point on a line, called the pole and polar axis respectively. Coordinates were
specified by the distance from the pole and the angle from the polar axis.
Bernoulli’s work extended to finding the radius of curvature of curves
expressed in these coordinates.
The actual term polar coordinates has been attributed to Gregorio
Fontana and was used by 18th-century Italian writers. The term appeared in
English in George Peacock’s 1816 translation of Lacroix’s Differential and
Integral Calculus. Alexis Clairaut was the first to think of polar coordinates
in three dimensions, and Leonhard Euler was the first to actually develop
them.
Conventions
The radial coordinate is often denoted by r, and the angular coordinate
by θ or t. Angles in polar notation are generally expressed in either degrees or
radians (2* rad being equal to 360°) Degrees are traditionally used in
navigation, surveying, and many applied disciplines, while radians are more
common in mathematics and mathematical physics.
In many contexts, a positive angular coordinate means that the angle θ is
measured counterclockwise from the axis. In mathematical literature, the
polar axis is often drawn horizontal and pointing to the right.
Uniqueness of Polar Coordinates
Adding any number of full turns (360°) to the angular coordinate does
not change the corresponding direction. Also, a negative radial coordinate is
best interpreted as the corresponding positive distance measured in the
opposite direction. Therefore the same point can be expressed with an infinite
number of different polar coordinates (r, θ± n×360°) or (-r, θ± (2n + 1)180°),
where n is any integer. Moreover, the pole itself can be expressed as (0, θ) for
any angle θ.
Where a unique representation is needed for any point, it is usual to limit
r to non-negative numbers (r ≥ 0) and θ to the interval [0, 360°) or (-180°,
180°] (in radians, [0, 2n) or (-n, n]). One must also choose a unique azimuth
for the pole, e.g., θ= 0.

Polar Equation of a Curve

The equation defining an algebraic curve expressed in polar coordinates
is known as a polar equation. In many cases, such an equation can simply be
specified by defining r as a function of θ. The resulting curve then consists of
points of the form (r(0), θ) and can be regarded as the graph of the polar
function r.
Different forms of symmetry can be deduced from the equation of a
polar function r. If r(-0) = r(0) the curve will be symmetrical about the
horizontal (0°/180°) ray, if r(n - θ) = r(0) it will be symmetric about the
vertical (90°/270°) ray, and if r(θ - α) = r(θ) it will be rotationally symmetric
α counterclockwise about the pole.
Because of the circular nature of the polar coordinate system, many
curves can be described by a rather simple polar equation, whereas their
Cartesian form is much more intricate.
Among the best known of these curves are the polar rose, Archimedean
spiral, lemniscate, limaçon, and cardioid.
 For the circle, line, and polar rose below, it is understood that there are
no restrictions on the domain and range of the curve.
Circle
The general equation for a circle with a centre at (r0, ϕ) and radius a is
r2 - 2rr0 cos(θ -ϕ) + r02 = a2.
This can be simplified in various ways, to conform to more specific
cases, such as the equation
r( θ) = a
for a circle with a centre at the pole and radius a.
When r0 = a, or when the origin lies on the circle, the equation becomes
r = 2acos(θ-ϕ).
In the general case, the equation can be solved for r, giving

the solution with a minus sign in front of the square root giving the same
curve.
Line
Radial lines (those running through the pole) are represented by the
equation
θ=φ
where φ is the angle of elevation of the line; that is, φ = arctan m where
m is the slope of the line in the Cartesian coordinate system.
The non-radial line that crosses the radial line θ = φ perpendicularly at
the point (r0, φ) has the equation
r( θ) =r0sec(θ-φ).
Otherwise stated (r0, φ) is the point in which the tangent intersects the
imaginary circle of radius r0.

Polar Rose
A polar rose is a famous mathematical curve that looks like a petaled
flower, and that can be expressed as a simple polar equation,
 r( θ) = acos(kθ + φ0)
for any constant φ0 (including 0).
If k is an integer, these equations will produce a k-petaled rose if k is odd,
or a 2k-petaled rose if k is even.
If k is rational but not an integer, a rose-like shape may form but with
overlapping petals.
Note that these equations never define a rose with 2, 6, 10, 14, etc.
petals. The variable a represents the length of the petals of the rose
Archimedean Spiral
The Archimedean spiral is a famous spiral that was discovered by
Archimedes, which also can be expressed as a simple polar equation. It is
represented by the equation
r(θ) = a + bθ.
Changing the parametre a will turn the spiral, while b controls the
distance between the arms, which for a given spiral is always constant.
The Archimedean spiral has two arms, one for θ > 0 and one for θ < 0.
The two arms are smoothly connected at the pole. Taking the mirror
image of one arm across the 90°/270° line will yield the other arm.
This curve is notable as one of the first curves, after the conic sections, to
be described in a mathematical treatise, and as being a prime example of a
curve that is best defined by a polar equation
Complex Numbers

Figure: An illustration of a complex number z plotted on the complex plane

 Figure: An illustration of a complex number plotted on the complex plane using Euler’s formula

Every complex number can be represented as a point in the complex

plane, and can therefore be expressed by specifying either the point’s
Cartesian coordinates (called rectangular or Cartesian form) or the point’s
polar coordinates (called polar form). The complex number z can be
represented in rectangular form as
z = x+iy
where i is the imaginary unit, or can alternatively be written in polar form
(via the conversion formulae given above) as
z = r·(cosθ+isinθ)
and from there as
z = rei θ
where e is Euler’s number, which are equivalent as shown by Euler’s
formula. (Note that this formula, like all those involving exponentials of
angles, assumes that the angle θ is expressed in radians.) To convert between
the rectangular and polar forms of a complex number, the conversion
formulae given above can be used.
For the operations of multiplication, division, and exponentiation of
complex numbers, it is generally much simpler to work with complex
numbers expressed in polar form rather than rectangular form. From the laws
of exponentiation:
 Connection to Spherical and Cylindrical Coordinates
The polar coordinate system is extended into three dimensions with two
different coordinate systems, the cylindrical and spherical coordinate system.
Applications
Polar coordinates are two-dimensional and thus they can be used only
where point positions lie on a single two-dimensional plane. They are most
appropriate in any context where the phenomenon being considered is
inherently tied to direction and length from a centre point.
For instance, the examples above show how elementary polar equations
suffice to define curves—such as the Archimedean spiral—whose equation in
the Cartesian coordinate system would be much more intricate.
Moreover, many physical systems—such as those concerned with bodies
moving around a central point or with phenomena originating from a central
point—are simpler and more intuitive to model using polar coordinates. The
initial motivation for the introduction of the polar system was the study of
circular and orbital motion.
Position and Navigation
Polar coordinates are used often in navigation, as the destination or
direction of travel can be given as an angle and distance from the object being
considered. For instance, aircraft use a slightly modified version of the polar
coordinates for navigation. In this system, the one generally used for any sort
of navigation, the 0° ray is generally called heading 360, and the angles
continue in a clockwise direction, rather than counterclockwise, as in the
mathematical system. Heading 360 corresponds to magnetic north, while
headings 90, 180, and 270 correspond to magnetic east, south, and west,
respectively. Thus, an aircraft travelling 5 nautical miles due east will be
travelling 5 units at heading 90 (read zero-niner-zero by air traffic control).
Modelling
Systems displaying radial symmetry provide natural settings for the polar
coordinate system, with the central point acting as the pole. A prime example
of this usage is the groundwater flow equation when applied to radially
symmetric wells. Systems with a radial force are also good candidates for the
use of the polar coordinate system. These systems include gravitational
fields, which obey the inverse-square law, as well as systems with point
sources, such as radio antennas.
Radially asymmetric systems may also be modeled with polar
coordinates. For example, a microphone’s pickup pattern illustrates its
proportional response to an incoming sound from a given direction, and these
patterns can be represented as polar curves. The curve for a standard cardioid
microphone, the most common unidirectional microphone, can be
represented as r = 0.5 + 0.5sin(θ) at its target design frequency. The pattern
shifts towards omnidirectionality at lower frequencies.

Cylindrical Coordinate System

A cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system
that specifies point positions by the distance from a chosen reference axis, the
direction from the axis relative to a chosen reference direction, and the
distance from a chosen reference plane perpendicular to the axis. The latter
distance is given as a positive or negative number depending on which side of
the reference plane faces the point.

Figure: A cylindrical coordinate system with origin O, polar axis A, and longitudinal axis L. The dot is
the point with radial distance ρ = 4, angular coordinate ϕ = 130°, and height z = 4.
The origin of the system is the point where all three coordinates can be
given as zero. This is the intersection between the reference plane and the
axis.
 The axis is variously called the cylindrical or longitudinal axis, to
differentiate it from the polar axis, which is the ray that lies in the reference
plane, starting at the origin and pointing in the reference direction.
The distance from the axis may be called the radial distance or radius,
while the angular coordinate is sometimes referred to as the angular position
or as the azimuth. The radius and the azimuth are together called the polar
coordinates, as they correspond to a two-dimensional polar coordinate
system in the plane through the point, parallel to the reference plane. The
third coordinate may be called the height or altitude (if the reference plane is
considered horizontal), longitudinal position, or axial position.
Cylindrical coordinates are useful in connection with objects and
phenomena that have some rotational symmetry about the longitudinal axis,
such as water flow in a straight pipe with round cross-section, heat
distribution in a metal cylinder, electromagnetic fields produced by an
electric current in a long, straight wire, and so on
It is sometimes called “cylindrical polar coordinate” and “polar
cylindrical coordinate”, and is sometime used to specify the position of stars
in a galaxy (“galactocentric cylindrical polar coordinate”).
Definition
The three coordinates (ρ φ, z) of a point P are defined as:
• The radial distance ρ is the Euclidean distance from the z axis to the
point P.
• The azimuth pis the angle between the reference direction on the
chosen plane and the line from the origin to the projection of P on the
plane.
• The height z is the signed distance from the chosen plane to the point
P.
Unique Cylindrical Coordinates
As in polar coordinates, the same point with cylindrical coordinates (ρ,
φ, z) has infinitely many equivalent coordinates, namely (ρ φ± n360°, z) and
(-ρ φ± (2n + 1)×180°, z), where n is any integer. Moreover, if the radius ρ is
zero, the azimuth is arbitrary.
In situations where one needs a unique set of coordinates for each point,
one may restrict the radius to be non-negative (ρ ≥ 0) and the azimuth pto lie
in a specific interval spanning 360°, such as (-180°,+180°] or [0,360°).
Coordinate System Conversions
The cylindrical coordinate system is one of many three-dimensional
coordinate systems. The following formula may be used to convert between
them.
Cartesian Coordinates
For the conversion between cylindrical and Cartesian coordinate
systems, it is convenient to assume that the reference plane of the former is
the Cartesian x-y plane (with equation z = 0), and the cylindrical axis is the
Cartesian z axis.
Then the z coordinate is the same in both systems, and the
correspondence between cylindrical (p,φ) and Cartesian (x,y) are the same as
for polar coordinates, namely

in one direction, and

in the other. The arcsin function is the inverse of the sine function, and is
assumed to return an angle in the range [- π/2,+π/2] = [-90°,+90°].
These formulas yield an azimuth φin the range [- 90°,+270°]. Many
modern programming languages provide a function that will compute the
correct azimuth φ, in the range (-π, π], given x and y, without the need to
perform a case analysis as above.
For example, this function is called by atan2(y,x) in the C programming
language, and atan(y,x) in Common Lisp.
Cylindrical Harmonics
The solutions to the Laplace equation in a system with cylindrical
symmetry are called cylindrical harmonics.

Spherical Coordinate System

Spherical coordinates (r,0,φ) as commonly used in physics: radial
distance r, polar angle B, and azimuthal angle cp. The symbol pis often used
instead of r.
Spherical coordinates (r,θ,φ) as often used in mathematics: radial
distance r, azimuthal angle θ, and polar angle φ. The meanings of θ and ϕ
have been swapped compared to the physics convention.

In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for

three-dimensional space where the position of a point is specified by three
numbers: the radial distance of that point from a fixed origin, its polar angle
measured from a fixed zenith direction, and the azimuth angle of its
orthogonal projection on a reference plane that passes through the origin and
is orthogonal to the zenith, measured from a fixed reference direction on that
plane.
The radial distance is also called the radius or radial coordinate. The
polar angle may be called colatitude, zenith angle, normal angle, or
inclination angle.
The use of symbols and the order of the coordinates differs between
sources. In one system which is usual in physics gives the radial distance,
polar angle, and azimuthal angle, whereas in another system used in many
mathematics books gives the radial distance, azimuthal angle, and polar
angle. In both systems is often used instead of . Other conventions are also
used so great care needs to be taken to check which one is being used.
A number of different spherical coordinate systems are used outside
mathematics which follow different conventions. In a geographical
coordinate system positions are measured in latitude, longitude and height or
altitude. There are a number of different celestial coordinate systems based
on different fundamental planes and with different terms for the various
coordinates. The spherical coordinate systems used in mathematics normally
use radians rather than degrees and measure the azimuthal angle
counterclockwise rather than clockwise. The inclination angle is often
replaced by the elevation angle measured from the reference plane.
The concept of spherical coordinates can be extended to higher
dimensional spaces and are then referred to as hyperspherical coordinates.
Definition
To define a spherical coordinate system, one must choose two orthogonal
directions, the zenith and the azimuth reference, and an origin point in space.
These choices determine a reference plane that contains the origin and is
perpendicular to the zenith. The spherical coordinates of a point P are then
defined as follows:
• the radius or radial distance is the Euclidean distance from the origin
O to P.
• the inclination (or polar angle) is the angle between the zenith
direction and the line segment OP.
• the azimuth (or azimuthal angle) is the signed angle measured from
 the azimuth reference direction to the orthogonal projection of the
line segment OP on the reference plane.
The sign of the azimuth is determined by choosing what is a positive
sense of turning about the zenith. This choice is arbitrary, and is part of the
coordinate system’s definition. The elevation angle is 90 degrees (^2 radians)
minus the inclination angle. If the inclination is zero or 180 degrees
(^radians), the azimuth is arbitrary. If the radius is zero both azimuth and
inclination are arbitrary. In linear algebra, the vector from the origin O to the
point P is often called the position vector of P.
Conventions
Several different conventions exist for representing the three coordinates,
and for the order in which they should be written. The use of (r, θ, φ) to
denote, respectively, radial distance, inclination (or elevation), and azimuth,
is common practice in physics, and is specified by ISO standard 31-11.
However, some authors (including mathematicians) use φfor inclination
(or elevation) and 0for azimuth, which “provides a logical extension of the
usual polar coordinates notation”. Some authors may also list the azimuth
before the inclination (or elevation), and/or use ρ instead of r for radial
distance. Some combinations of these choices result in a left-handed
coordinate system. The standard convention (r, θ, φ) conflicts with the usual
notation for the two-dimensional polar coordinates, where 0is often used for
the azimuth. It may also conflict with the notation used for three-dimensional
cylindrical coordinates.
The angles are typically measured in degrees (°) or radians (rad), where
360° = 2* rad. Degrees are most common in geography, astronomy, and
engineering, whereas radians are commonly used in mathematics and
theoretical physics. The unit for radial distance is usually determined by the
context. When the system is used for physical three-space, it is customary to
use positive sign for azimuth angles that are measured in the counter-
clockwise sense from the reference direction on the reference plane, as seen
from the zenith side of the plane. This convention is used, in particular, for
geographical coordinates, where the “zenith” direction is north and positive
azimuth (longitude) angles are measured eastwards from some prime
meridian.
Unique Coordinates
 Any spherical coordinate triplet (r, θ, φ) specifies a single point of three-
dimensional space On the other hand, every point has infinitely many
equivalent spherical coordinates. One can add or subtract any number of full
turns to either angular measure without changing the angles themselves, and
therefore without changing the point. It is also convenient, in many contexts,
to allow negative radial distances, with the convention that (-r, θ, φ) is
equivalent to (r, *180°, c+ ) for any r, θ, and φ. Moreover, (r, -θ, φ) is
equivalent to(r, θ, φ+180°).
If it is necessary to define a unique set of spherical coordinates for each
point, one may restrict their ranges
A common choice is:

However, the azimuth φ is often restricted to the interval (-180°, +180°],

or (-π, +π] in radians, instead of [0, 360°). This is the standard convention for
geographic longitude.
The range [0°, 180°] for inclination is equivalent to [-90°, +90°] for
elevation (latitude).
Even with these restrictions, if 0is zero or 180° (elevation is 90° or -90°)
then the azimuth angle is arbitrary; and if r is zero, both azimuth and
inclination/elevation are arbitrary. To make the coordinates unique one can
use the convention that in these cases the arbitrary coordinates are zero.
Plotting
To plot a point from its spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ), where 0is
inclination, move r units from the origin in the zenith direction, rotate by
0about the origin towards the azimuth reference direction, and rotate by φ
about the zenith in the proper direction.
Applications
The geographic coordinate system uses the azimuth and elevation of the
spherical coordinate system to express locations on Earth, calling them
respectively longitude and latitude. Just as the two-dimensional Cartesian
coordinate system is useful on the plane, a two-dimensional spherical
coordinate system is useful on the surface of a sphere. In this system, the
sphere is taken as a unit sphere, so the radius is unity and can generally be
ignored. This simplification can also be very useful when dealing with
objects such as rotational matrices.
Spherical coordinates are useful in analyzing systems that have some
degree of symmetry about a point, such as volume integrals inside a sphere,
the potential energy field surrounding a concentrated mass or charge, or
global weather simulation in a planet’s atmosphere. A sphere that has the
Cartesian equation x2 + y2 + z2 = c2 has the simple equation r = c in spherical
coordinates. Two important partial differential equations that arise in many
physical problems, Laplace’s equation and the Helmholtz equation, allow a
separation of variables in spherical coordinates. The angular portions of the
solutions to such equations take the form of spherical harmonics.
Another application is ergonomic design, where r is the arm length of a
stationary person and the angles describe the direction of the arm as it reaches
out. Three dimensional modelling of loudspeaker output patterns can be used
to predict their performance. A number of polar plots are required, taken at a
wide selection of frequencies, as the pattern changes greatly with frequency.
Polar plots help to show that many loudspeakers tend towards
omnidirectionality at lower frequencies. The spherical coordinate system is
also commonly used in 3D game development to rotate the camera around
the player’s position.

Coordinate System Conversions

As the spherical coordinate system is only one of many three-
dimensional coordinate systems, there exist equations for converting
coordinates between the spherical coordinate system and others.
Cartesian Coordinates
The spherical coordinates (radius r, inclination θ, azimuth ϕ) of a point
can be obtained from its Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) by the formulae

The inverse tangent denoted in φ= arctan(y/x) must be suitably defined,

taking into account the correct quadrant of (x,y. Alternatively, the conversion
can be considered as two sequential rectangular to polar conversions: the first
in the Cartesian x-y plane from (x,y) to (R,φ), where R is the projection of r
onto the x-y plane, and the second in the Cartesian z-R plane from (z,R) to
(r,d). The correct quadrants for φ and 6 are implied by the correctness of the
planar rectangular to polar conversions.
These formulae assume that the two systems have the same origin, that
the spherical reference plane is the Cartesian x-y plane, that 6 is inclination
from the z direction, and that the azimuth angles are measured from the
Cartesian x axis (so that the y axis has ^+90°). If θ measures elevation from
the reference plane instead of inclination from the zenith the arccos above
becomes an arcsin, and the cos 0and sin 0below become switched.
Conversely, the Cartesian coordinates may be retrieved from the spherical
coordinates (radius r, inclination B, azimuth φ), where r
by:

Geographic Coordinates
To a first approximation, the geographic coordinate system uses
elevation angle (latitude) in degrees north of the equator plane, in the range
-90° ≤ φ≤ 90°, instead of inclination. Latitude is either geocentric latitude,
measured at the Earth’s centre and designated variously by ψ, q, φ’, φ,φ or
geodetic latitude, measured by the observer’s local vertical, and g commonly
designated φ. The azimuth angle (longitude), commonly denoted by t is
measured in degrees east or west from some conventional reference meridian
(most commonly the IERS Reference Meridian), so its domain is -180° ≤ λ ≤
180°. For positions on the Earth or other solid celestial body, the reference
plane is usually taken to be the plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation.
The polar angle, which is 90° minus the latitude and ranges from 0 to
180°, is called colatitude in geography. Instead of the radial distance,
geographers commonly use altitude above some reference surface, which
may be the sea level or “mean” surface level for planets without liquid
oceans. The radial distance r can be computed from the altitude by adding the
mean radius of the planet’s reference surface, which is approximately
6,360±11 km for Earth.
 However, modern geographical coordinate systems are quite complex,
and the positions implied by these simple formulae may be wrong by several
kilometres. The precise standard meanings of latitude, longitude and altitude
are currently defined by the World Geodetic System (WGS), and take into
account the flattening of the Earth at the poles (about 21 km) and many other
details.
In astronomy there are a series of spherical coordinate systems that
measure the elevation angle from different fundamental planes. These
reference planes are the observer’s horizon, the celestial equator (defined by
the Earth’s rotation), the plane of the ecliptic (defined by Earth’s orbit around
the sun), and the galactic equator (defined by the rotation of the galaxy).
Kinematics
In spherical coordinates the position of a point is written,

In the case of a constant ϕ this reduces to vector calculus in polar

coordinates.
 4: Homogeneous Coordinates

In mathematics, homogeneous coordinates, introduced by August

Ferdinand Mφbius in his 1827 work Der barycentrische Calcül, are a system
of coordinates used in projective geometry much as Cartesian coordinates are
used in Euclidean geometry They have the advantage that the coordinates of
points, including points at infinity, can be represented using finite coordinates
Formulas involving homogeneous coordinates are often simpler and more
symmetric than their Cartesian counterparts.

Figure: Rational Bézier curve – polynomial curve defined in homogeneous coordinates (blue) and its
projection on plane – rational curve (red)
Homogeneous coordinates have a range of applications, including
computer graphics and 3D computer vision, where they allow affine
transformations and, in general, projective transformations to be easily
represented by a matrix. If the homogeneous coordinates of a point are
multiplied by a non-zero scalar then the resulting coordinates represent the
same point.
An additional condition must be added on the coordinates to ensure that
only one set of coordinates corresponds to a given point, so the number of
coordinates required is, in general, one more than the dimension of the
projective space being considered. For example, two homogeneous
coordinates are required to specify a point on the projective line and three
homogeneous coordinates are required to specify a point on the projective
plane.

Introduction
The projective plane can be thought of as the Euclidean plane with
additional points, so called points at infinity, added. There is a point at
infinity for each direction, informally defined as the limit of a point that
moves in that direction away from a fixed point. Parallel lines in the
Euclidean plane are said to intersect at a point at infinity corresponding to
their common direction.
A given point (x, y) on the Euclidean plane is identified with two ratios
(X/Z, Y/Z), so the point (x, y) corresponds to the triple (X, Y, Z) = (xZ, yZ, Z)
where Z ≠ 0. Such a triple is a set of homogeneous coordinates for the point
(x, y).
Note that, since ratios are used, multiplying the three homogeneous
coordinates by a common, non-zero factor does not change the point
represented – unlike Cartesian coordinates, a single point can be represented
by infinitely many homogeneous coordinates.
The equation of a line through the point (a, b) may be written l(x - a) +
m(y - b) = 0 where l and m are not both 0. In parametric form this can be
written x = a + mt, y = b - lt. Let Z=1/t, so the coordinates of a point on the
line may be written (a + m/Z, b - l/ Z)=((aZ + m)/Z, (bZ - l)/Z). In
homogeneous coordinates this becomes (aZ + m, bZ - l, Z).
In the limit as t approaches infinity, in other words as the point moves
away from (a, b), Z becomes 0 and the homogeneous coordinates of the point
become (m, -l, 0). So (m, -l, 0) are defined as homogeneous coordinates of the
point at infinity corresponding to the direction of the line l(x - a) + m(y - b) =
0.
To summarize:
• Any point in the projective plane is represented by a triple (X, Y, Z),
called the homogeneous coordinates of the point, where X, Y and Z
are not all 0.
• The point represented by a given set of homogeneous coordinates is
unchanged if the coordinates are multiplied by a common factor.
 • Conversely two sets of homogeneous coordinates represent the same
point if and only if one is obtained from the other by multiplying by a
common factor.
• When Z is not 0 the point represented is the point (X/Z, Y/Z) in the
Euclidean plane.
• When Z is 0 the point represented is a point at infinity.
Note that the triple (0, 0, 0) is omitted and does not represent any point.
The origin is represented by (0, 0, 1).
Notation
Some authors use different notations for homogeneous coordinates
which help distinguish them from Cartesian coordinates. The use of colons
instead of commas, for example (x:y:z) instead of (x, y, z), emphasizes that
the coordinates are to be considered ratios. Brackets, as in [x, y, z] emphasize
that multiple sets of coordinates are associated with a single point. Some
authors use a combination of colons and brackets as in [x:y:z].
Homogeneity
Homogeneous coordinates are not uniquely determined by a point, so a
function defined on the coordinates, say f(x, y, z), does not determine a
function defined on points as with Cartesian coordinates. But a condition f(x,
y, z) = 0 defined on the coordinates, as might be used to describe a curve,
determines a condition on points if the function is homogeneous.
Specifically, suppose there is a k such that

If a set of coordinates represent the same point as (x, y, z) then it can be

written (λx, λy, λz) for some non-zero value of λ. Then

A polynomial g(x, y) of degree k can be turned into a homogeneous

polynomial by replacing x with x/z, y with y/z and multiplying by zk , in other
words by defining
f(x,y,z) = zkg(x/z,y/z).
The resulting function f is a polynomial so it makes sense to extend its
domain to triples where z = 0. The process can be reversed by setting z = 1,
or
 g(x,y) = f(x,y,1).
The equation f(x, y, z) = 0 can then be thought of as the homogeneous
form of g(x, y) = 0 and it defines the same curve when restricted to the
Euclidean plane. For example, the homogeneous form of the equation of the
line ax + by + c = 0 is ax + by + cz = 0.
Other Dimensions
The discussions in the preceding sections apply analogously to projective
spaces other than the plane. So the points on the projective line may be
represented by pairs of coordinates (x, y), not both zero. In this case, the point
at infinity is (1, 0). Similarly the points in projective n-space are represented
by (n + 1)-tuples.
Alternative Definition
Another definition of projective space can be given in terms of
equivalence classes. For non-zero element of R3 define (x z y1, z 1) ~ y2, z2) to
mean there is a non-zero λ so that (x 1, y1 z1) = (λx2, λx 2,λz2). Then ~ is an
equivalence relation and the projective plane can be defined as the
equivalence classes of R3 “ {0 . If (x, y, z) is one of elements of the
equivalence class p then these are taken to be homogeneous coordinates of p.
Lines in this space are defined to be sets of solutions of equations of the
form ax + by + cz = 0 where not all of a, b and c are zero. The condition ax
+ by + cz = 0 depends only on the equivalence class of (x, y, z) so the
equation defines a set of points in the projective line.
The mapping (x, y) → (x, y, 1) defines an inclusion from the Euclidean
plane to the projective plane and the complement of the image is the set of
points with z=0. This is the equation of a line according to the definition and
the complement is called the line at infinity. The equivalence classes, p, are
the lines through the origin with the origin removed.
The origin does not really play an essential part in the previous
discussion so it can be added back in without changing the properties of the
projective plane.
This produces a variation on the definition, namely the projective plane
is defined as the set of lines in R3 that pass through the origin and the
coordinates of a non-zero element (x, y, z) of a line are taken to be
homogeneous coordinates of the line. These lines are now interpreted as
points in the projective plane.
Again, this discussion applies analogously to other dimensions. So the
projective space of dimension n can be defined as the set of lines through the
origin in Rn+1.
Elements Other Than Points
The equation of a line in the projective plane may be given as sx + ty +
uz = 0 where s, t and u are constants. Each triple (s, t, u) determines a line, the
line determined is unchanged if it is multiplied by a nonzero scalar, and at
least one of s, t and u must be non-zero. So the triple (s, t, u) may be taken to
be homogeneous coordinates of a line in the projective plane, that is line
coordinates as opposed to point coordinates.
If in sx + ty + uz = 0 the letters s, t and u are taken as variables and x, y
and z are taken as constants then equation becomes an equation of a set of
lines in the space of all lines in the plane.
Geometrically it represents the set of lines that pass though the point (x,
y, z) and may be interpreted as the equation of the point in line-coordinates.
In the same way, planes in 3-space may be given sets of four homogeneous
coordinates, and so on for higher dimensions.

Duality (Projective Geometry)

A striking feature of projective planes is the “symmetry” of the roles
played by points and lines in the definitions and theorems, and (plane) duality
is the formalization of this metamathematical concept. There are two
approaches to the subject of duality, one through language (the Principle of
Duality) and the other a more functional approach.
These are completely equivalent and either treatment has as its starting
point the axiomatic version of the geometries under consideration. In the
functional approach there is a map between related geometries which is
called a duality. In specific examples, such a map can be constructed in many
ways. The concept of plane duality readily extends to space duality and
beyond that to duality in any finite dimensional projective geometry.
Principle of Duality
 If one defines a projective plane axiomatically as an incidence structure,
in terms of a set P of points, a set L of lines, and an incidence relation I that
determines which points lie on which lines, then one may define a plane dual
structure.
Interchange the role of “points” and “lines” in
C=(P,L,I)
to obtain the dual structure
C* =(L,P,I*),
where I* is the inverse relation of I. C* is also a projective plane, called the
dual plane of C.
If C and C* are isomorphic, then C is called self-dual. The projective
planes PG(2,K) for any division ring K are self-dual. However, there are non-
Desarguesian planes which are not self-dual, such as the Hall planes and
some that are, such as the Hughes planes.
In a projective plane a statement involving points, lines and incidence
between them that is obtained from another such statement by interchanging
the words “point” and “line” and making whatever grammatical adjustments
that are necessary, is called the plane dual statement of the first. The plane
dual statement of “Two points are on a unique line.” is “Two lines meet at a
unique point.” Forming the plane dual of a statement is known as dualizing
the statement.
If a statement is true in a projective plane C, then the plane dual of that
statement must be true in the dual plane C*. This follows since dualizing
each statement in the proof “in C- gives a statement of the proof “in C*.”
The Principle of Plane Duality says that dualizing any theorem in a self-
dual projective plane C produces another theorem valid in C. The above
concepts can be generalized to talk about space duality, where the terms
“points” and “planes” are interchanged (and lines remain lines). This leads to
the Principle of Space Duality. Further generalization is possible.
These principles provide a good reason for preferring to use a
“symmetric” term for the incidence relation. Thus instead of saying “a point
lies on a line” one should say “a point is incident with a line” since dualizing
the latter only involves interchanging point and line (“a line is incident with a
point”).
 Traditionally in projective geometry the set of points on a line are
considered to include the relation of projective harmonic conjugates. In this
tradition the points on a line form a projective range a concept dual to a
pencil of lines on a point.
Dual Theorems
As the real projective plane, PG(2,R), is self-dual there are a number of
pairs of well known results that are duals of each other. Some of these are:
• Desargues’ theorem ⇔ Converse of Desargues’ theorem
• Pascal’s theorem ⇔ Brianchon’s theorem
• Menelaus’ theorem ⇔ Ceva’s theorem

Duality as a Mapping
A (plane) duality is a map from a projective plane C = (P,L,I) to its dual
plane C* = (L,P,I*) which preserves incidence. That is, a (plane) duality σ
will map points to lines and lines to points (Pσ = L and Lσ = P) in such a way
that if a point Q is on a line m ( denoted by Q I m) then Q> I* mσ Ô! mσ I Qσ
A (plane) duality which is an isomorphism is called a correlation.[1] The
existence of a correlation means that the projective plane C is self-dual.
In the special case that the projective plane is of the PG(2,K) type, with
K a division ring, a duality is called a reciprocity. These planes are always
self-dual. By the Fundamental theorem of projective geometry a reciprocity is
the composition of an automorphic function of K and a homography. If the
automorphism involved is the identity, then the reciprocity is called a
projective correlation. A correlation of order two (an involution) is called a
polarity. If a correlation φ is not a polarity then φ2 is a nontrivial collineation.
This duality mapping concept can also be extended to higher dimensional
spaces so the modifier “(plane)” can be dropped in those situations.
Higher Dimensional Duality
Duality in the projective plane is a special case of duality for projective
spaces, transformations of PG(n,K) (also denoted by KPn) with K a field, that
interchange objects of dimension r with objects of dimension n - 1 - r ( =
codimension r + 1). That is, in a projective space of dimension n, the points
(dimension 0) are made to correspond with hyperplanes (codimension 1), the
lines joining two points (dimension 1) are made to correspond with the
intersection of two hyperplanes (codimension 2), and so on.
The points of PG(n,K) can be taken to be the nonzero vectors in the (n +
1)-dimensional vector space over K, where we identify two vectors which
differ by a scalar factor. Another way to put it is that the points of n-
dimensional projective space are the lines through the origin in Kn + 1, which
are 1-dimensional vector subspaces. Also the n- vector dimensional
subspaces of Kn + 1 represent the (n - 1)- geometric dimensional hyperplanes
of projective n-space over K.
A nonzero vector u = (u0,u1,...,un) in Kn + 1 also determines an (n - 1) -
geometric dimensional subspace (hyperplane) Hu, by
Hu = {(x0,x1,...,xn) : u0x0 + … + unxn = 0 }.
When a vector u is used to define a hyperplane in this way it shall be
denoted by uH, while if it is designating a point we will use uP. In terms of the
usual dot product, Hu = {xP : uH • xP = 0}. Since K is a field, the dot product
is symmetrical, meaning uH•xP = u0x0 + u1x1 + ... + unxn = x0u0 + x1u1 + ... +
xnun = xH•uP. A reciprocity can be given by uP ↔ Hu between points and
hyperplanes. This extends to a reciprocity between the line generated by two
points and the intersection of two such hyperplanes, and so forth.
In the projective plane, PG(2,K), with K a field we have the reciprocity
given by: points in homogeneous coordinates (a,b,c) ↔ lines with equations
ax + by + cz = 0. In a corresponding projective space, PG(3,K), a reciprocity
is given by: points in homogeneous coordinates (a,b,c,d) ↔ planes with
equations ax + by + cz + dw = 0. This reciprocity would also map a line
determined by two points (a1,b1,c1,d1) and (a2,b2,c2,d2) to the line which is
the intersection of the two planes with equations a1x + b1y + c1z + d1w = 0
and a2x + b2y + c2z + d2w = 0.

Three Dimensions
In a polarity of real projective 3-space, PG(3,R), points correspond to
planes, and lines correspond to lines. By restriction the duality of polyhedra
in solid geometry is obtained, where points are dual to faces, and sides are
dual to sides, so that the icosahedron is dual to the dodecahedron, and the
cube is dual to the octahedron.
Geometric Construction of a Reciprocity
The reciprocity of PG(2,K), with K a field, given by homogeneous
coordinates can also be described geometrically. This uses the model of the
real projective plane which is a “unit sphere with antipodes identifie≤, or
equivalently, the model of li n e s a n d p lan es t h r o ugh t h e or ig in of th e
vec to r sp a c e K3. Associate a line through the origin with the unique plane
through the origin which is perpendicular (orthogonal) to the line. When, in
the model, these lines are considered to be the points and the planes the lines
of the projective plane PG(2,K), this association becomes a reciprocity
(actually a polarity) of the projective plane. The sphere model is obtained by
intersecting the lines and planes through the origin with a unit sphere
centreed at the origin. The lines meet the sphere in antipodal points which
must then be identified to obtain a point of the projective plane, and the
planes meet the sphere in great circles which are thus the lines of the
projective plane.
That this association “preserves” incidence is most easily seen from the
lines and planes model. A point incident with a line in the projective plane
corresponds to a line lying in a plane in the model. Applying the association,
the plane becomes a line through the origin perpendicular to the plane it is
associated with. This image line is perpendicular to every line of the plane
which passes through the origin, in particular the original line (point of the
projective plane). All lines that are perpendicular to the original line at the
origin lie in the unique plane which is orthogonal to the original line, that is,
the image plane under the association. Thus, the image line lies in the image
plane and the association preserves incidence.
Poles and Polars
 Figure: Pole and polar with respect to circle O. P = Q’, q is polar of Q, Q is pole of q.
In the Euclidean plane, fix a circle C with centre O and radius r. For each
point P other than O define an image point P so that OP • OP = r2. The
mapping defined by P → P is called inversion with respect to circle C. The
line through P which is perpendicular to the line OP is called the polar of the
point P with respect to circle C. Let m be a line not passing through O. Drop
a perpendicular from O to m, meeting m at the point Q (this is the point of m
that is closest to O).
The image of Q under inversion with respect to C is called the pole of m.
If a point P (different from O) is on a line m (not passing through O) then the
pole of m lies on the polar of P and viceversa. The incidence preserving
process, in which points and lines are transformed into their polars and poles
with respect to C is called reciprocation. In order to turn this process into a
reciprocity, the Euclidean plane (which is not a projective plane) needs to be
expanded to the extended euclidean plane by adding a line at infinity and
points at infinity which lie on this line. In this expanded plane, we define the
polar of the point O to be the line at infinity (and O is the pole of the line at
infinity), and the poles of the lines through O are the points of infinity where,
if a line has slope s (* 0) its pole is the infinite point associated to the parallel
class of lines with slope -1/s. The pole of the x-axis is the point of infinity of
the vertical lines and the pole of the y-axis is the point of infinity of the
horizontal lines.
The construction of a reciprocity based on inversion in a circle given
above can be generalized by using inversion in a conic section (in the
extended real plane). The reciprocities constructed in this manner are
projective correlations of order two, that is, polarities.
Mapping the Sphere onto the Plane
The unit sphere modulo “1 model of the projective plane is isomorphic
(w r.t. incidence properties) to the planar model: the affine plane extended
with a projective line at infinity.
To map a point on the sphere to a point on the plane, let the plane be
tangent to the sphere at some point which shall be the origin of the plane’s
coordinate system (2-D origin). Then construct a line passing through the
centre of the sphere (3-D origin) and the point on the sphere. This line
intersects the plane at a point which is the projection of the point on the
sphere onto the plane (or vice versa).
This projection can be used to define a one-to-one onto mapping

If points in ℝP2 are expressed in homogeneous coordinates,

Also, lines in the planar model are projections of great circles of the
sphere. This is so because through any line in the plane pass an infinitude of
different planes: one of these planes passes through the 3-D origin, but a
plane passing through the 3-D origin intersects the sphere along a great circle.
As we have seen, any great circle in the unit sphere has a projective point
perpendicular to it, which can be defined as its dual. But this point is a pair of
antipodal points on the unit sphere, through both of which passes a unique 3-
D line, and this line extended past the unit sphere intersects the tangent plane
at a point, which means that there is a geometric way to associate a unique
point on the plane to every line on the plane, such that the point is the dual of
the line.

Plücker Coordinates
In geometry, Plücker coordinates, introduced by Julius Plücker in the
19th century, are a way to assign six homogenous coordinates to each line in
projective 3-space, P3. Because they satisfy a quadratic constraint, they
establish a one-to-one correspondence between the 4-dimensional space of
lines in P3 and points on a quadric in P5 (projective 5-space). A predecessor
and special case of Grassmann coordinates (which describe k-dimensional
linear subspaces, or flats, in an n-dimensional Euclidean space), Plücker
coordinates arise naturally in geometric algebra. They have proved useful for
computer graphics, and also can be extended to coordinates for the screws
and wrenches in the theory of kinematics used for robot control.
Geometric Intuition

Figure: Displacement and moment of two points on line

A line L in 3-dimensional Euclidean space is determined by two distinct
points that it contains, or by two distinct planes that contain it. Consider the
first case, with points x = (x1,x2,x3) and y = (y1,y2,y3). The vector
displacement from x to y is nonzero because the points are distinct, and
represents the direction of the line. That is, every displacement between
points on L is a scalar multiple of d = y-x. If a physical particle of unit mass
were to move from x to y, it would have a moment about the origin. The
geometric equivalent is a vector whose direction is perpendicular to the plane
containing L and the origin, and whose length equals twice the area of the
triangle formed by the displacement and the origin. Treating the points as
displacements from the origin, the moment is m = x×y, where “×” denotes
the vector cross product.
The area of the triangle is proportional to the length of the segment
between x and y considered as the base of the triangle; it is not changed by
sliding the base along the line, parallel to itself. By definition the moment
vector is perpendicular to every displacement along the line, so d• m = 0,
where “•” denotes the vector dot product
 Although neither d nor m alone is sufficient to determine L, together the
pair does so uniquely, up to a common (nonzero) scalar multiple which
depends on the distance between x and y. That is, the coordinates
(d:m) = (d1:d2:d3:m1:m2:m3)
may be considered homogeneous coordinates for L, in the sense that all pairs
(M:hm), for I * 0, can be produced by points on L and only L, and any such
pair determines a unique line so long as d is not zero and d•m = 0
Furthermore, this approach extends to include points, lines, and a plane “at
infinity”, in the sense of projective geometry.
Example:
Let x = (2,3,7) and y = (2,1,0). Then (d:m) = (0:-2:-7:-7:14:-4).
Alternatively, let the equations for points x of two distinct planes
containing L be
0 = a + a•x
0 = b + b•x .
Then their respective planes are perpendicular to vectors a and b, and the
direction of L must be perpendicular to both. Hence we may set d = a×b,
which is nonzero because a and b are neither zero nor parallel (the planes
being distinct and intersecting). If point x satisfies both plane equations, then
it also satisfies the linear combination
0 = a (b + b•x) – b (a + a•x)
= (a b – b a)•x .
That is, m = a b - b a is a vector perpendic ular to displacements to points
on L from the origin; it is, in fact, a moment consistent with the d previously
defined from a and b.
Example. Let a0 = 2, a = (– 1,0,0) and b0 = – 7, b = (0,7,-2). Then (d:m)
= (0: – 2:– 7:– 7:14:– 4).
Although the usual algebraic definition tends to obscure the relationship,
(d:m) are the Plücker coordinates of L.
Algebraic Definition
In a 3-dimensional projective space, P3, let L be a line containing distinct
points x and y with homogeneous coordinates (x0:x1:x2:x3) and (y0:y1:y2:y3),
respectively. Let M be the 4×2 matrix with these coordinates as columns.

Because x and y are distinct points, the columns of M are linearly

independent; M has rank 2. Let M2 be a second matrix, with columns x2 and
y2 a different pair of distinct points on L. Then the columns of M2 are linear
combinations of the columns of M; so for some 2×2 nonsingular matrix Λ,
M′ = MΛ.
In particular, rows i and j of M2 and M are related by

Therefore, the determinant of the left side 2×2 matrix equals the product
of the determinants of the right side 2×2 matrices, the latter of which is a
fixed scalar, det Λ .
Primary Coordinates
With this motivation, we define Plücker coordinate pij as the determinant
of rows i and j of M,

This implies pii = 0 and pij = -pji, reducing the possibilities to only six (4
choose 2) independent quantities. As we have seen, the sixtuple
(p01 : p02 : p03 : p23 : p31 : p12 )
is uniquely determined by L, up to a common nonzero scale factor.
Furthermore, all six components cannot be zero, because if they were, all
2×2 subdeterminants in M would be zero and the rank of M at most one,
contradicting the assumption that x and y are distinct.
Thus the Plücker coordinates of L, as suggested by the colons, may be
considered homogeneous coordinates of a point in a 5-dimensional projective
space.
Plücker Map
Denote the set of all lines (linear images of P1) in P3 by G1,3. We thus
have a map :

Dual Coordinates
Alternatively, let L be a line contained in distinct planes a and b with
homogeneous coefficients (a0:a1:a2:a3) and (b0:b1:b2:b3), respectively. (The
first plane equation is 0 = -k akxk, for example.) Let N be the 2×4 matrix with
these coordinates as rows.

We define dual Plücker coordinate pij as the determinant of columns i

and j of N,

Dual coordinates are convenient in some computations, and we can show

that they are equivalent to primary coordinates. Specifically, let (i,j,k,l) be an
even permutation of (0,1,2,3); then

Geometry
To relate back to the geometric intuition, take x0 = 0 as the plane at
infinity; thus the coordinates of points not at infinity can be normalized so
that x0 = 1. Then M becomes

and setting x = (x1,x2,x3) and y = (y1,y2,y3), we have d = (p01,p02,p03) and m =

(p23,p31,p12).
Dually, we have d = (p23,p31,p12) and m = (p01,p02,p03).
Point Equations
Letting (x0:x1:x2:x3) be the point coordinates, four possible points on a
line each have coordinates xi = pij, for j = 0…3. Some of these possible points
may be inadmissible because all coordinates are zero, but since at least one
Plücker coordinate is nonzero, at least two distinct points are guaranteed.
Bijectivity
If (q01:q02:q03:q23:q31:q12) are the homogeneous coordinates of a point in
P5, without loss of generality assume that q01 is nonzero. Then the matrix

has rank 2, and so its columns are distinct points defining a line L. When the
P5 coordinates, qij, satisfy the quadratic Plücker relation, they are the Plücker
coordinates of L. To see this, first normalize q 01 to 1. Then we immediately
have that for the Plücker coordinates computed from M, pij = qij, except for
p23 = – q03 q12 – q02 q31 .
But if the qij satisfy the Plücker relation q+qq 3+qq 1 = 0, then p = q2,
completing the set of identities Consequently, α is a surjection onto the
algebraic variety consisting of the set of zeros of the quadratic polynomial
p01 p23 +p02 p31 +p03 p12.
And since α is also an injection, the lines in P3 are thus in bijective
correspondence with the points of this quadric in P5, called the Plücker
quadric or Klein quadric.
Uses
Plücker coordinates allow concise solutions to problems of line geometry
in 3-dimensional space, especially those involving incidence.
Line-line Join
In the event that two lines are coplanar but not parallel, their common
plane has equation
0 = (m•d2 )x0 + (d×d2 )•x ,
where x = (x1,x2,x3).
The slightest perturbation will destroy the existence of a common plane,
and near-parallelism of the lines will cause numeric difficulties in finding
such a plane even if it does exist.
Line-line Meet
Dually, two coplanar lines, neither of which contains the origin, have
common point
(x 0 : x) = (d•m2 :m×m2 ).
To handle lines not meeting this restriction.
Plane-line Meet
Given a plane with equation
0 = a0x0 + a1x1 + a2x2+ a3x3,
or more concisely 0 = a0x0+a•x; and given a line not in it with Plücker
coordinates (d:m), then their point of intersection is
(x0 : x) = (a•d : a×m - a0d) .
The point coordinates, (x0:x1:x2:x3), can also be expressed in terms of
Plücker coordinates as

Point-line Join
Dually, given a point (y0:y) and a line not containing it, their common
plane has equation
0 = (y•m) x0 + (y×≤y0m)•x.
The plane coordinates, (a0:a1:a2:a3), can also be expressed in terms of
dual Plücker coordinates as
Line Families
Because the Klein quadric is in P5, it contains linear subspaces of
dimensions one and two (but no higher). These correspond to one- and two-
parametre families of lines in P3.
For example, suppose L and L2 are distinct lines in P3 determined by
points x, y and x2 , y2 , respectively. Linear combinations of their
determining points give linear combinations of their Plücker coordinates,
generating a one-parametre family of lines containing L and L2 . This
corresponds to a one-dimensional linear subspace belonging to the Klein
quadric.
Lines in Plane
If three distinct and non-parallel lines are coplanar; their linear
combinations generate a two-parametre family of lines, all the lines in the
plane. This corresponds to a two-dimensional linear subspace belonging to
the Klein quadric.
Lines Through Point
If three distinct and non-coplanar lines intersect in a point, their linear
combinations generate a two-parametre family of lines, all the lines through
the point. This also corresponds to a two-dimensional linear subspace
belonging to the Klein quadric.
Ruled Surface
A ruled surface is a family of lines that is not necessarily linear. It
corresponds to a curve on the Klein quadric. For example, a hyperboloid of
one sheet is a quadric surface in P3 ruled by two different families of lines,
one line of each passing through each point of the surface; each family
corresponds under the Plücker map to a conic section within the Klein
quadric in P5.
Line Geometry
During the nineteenth century, line geometry was studied intensively. In
terms of the bijection given above, this is a description of the intrinsic
geometry of the Klein quadric.
Ray Tracing
Line geometry is extensively used in ray tracing application where the
geometry and intersections of rays need to be calculated in 3D. An
implementation is described in Introduction to Pluecker Coordinates written
for the Ray Tracing forum by Thouis Jones.
Application to Bézout’s Theorem
Bézout’s theorem predicts that the number of points of intersection of
two curves is equal to the product of their degrees (assuming an algebraically
complete field and with certain conventions followed for counting
intersection multiplicities). Bézout’s theorem predicts there is one point of
intersection of two lines and in general this is true, but when the lines are
parallel the point of intersection is infinite.
Homogeneous coordinates can be used to locate the point of intersection
in this case. Similarly, Bézout’s theorem predicts that a line will intersect a
conic at two points, but in some cases one or both of the points is infinite and
homogeneous coordinates must be used to locate them.
For example, y = x2 and x = 0 have only one point of intersection in the
finite plane. To find the other point of intersection, convert the equations into
homogeneous form, yz = x2 and x = 0. This produces x = yz = 0 and, assuming
not all of x, y and z are 0, the solutions are x = y = 0, z ≠ 0 and x = z = 0, y ≠ 0.
This first solution is the point (0, 0) in Cartesian coordinates, the finite point
of intersection.
The second solutions gives the homogeneous coordinates (0, 1, 0) which
corresponds to the direction of the y-axis. For the equations xy = 1 and x = 0
there are no finite points of intersection. Converting the equations into
homogeneous form gives xy = z2 and x = 0. Solving produces the equation z2
= 0 which has a double root at z = 0.
From the original equation, x = 0, so y ≠ 0 since at least one coordinate
must be non-zero. Therefore (0, 1, 0) is the point of intersection counted with
multiplicity 2 in agreement with the theorem.Circular points at infinity
In projective geometry the circular points at infinity in the complex
projective plane (also called cyclic points or isotropic points) are
(1: i: 0) and (1: - i: 0).
 Here the coordinates are homogeneous coordinates (x: y: z); so that the
line at infinity is defined by z = 0. These points at infinity are called circular
points at infinity because they lie on the complexification of every real circle.
In other words, both points satisfy the homogeneous equations of the type
Ax2 + Ay2 + 2B1xz + 2B2yz - Cz2 = 0.
The case where the coefficients are all real gives the equation of a
general circle (of the real projective plane). In general, an algebraic curve that
passes through these two points is called circular.
The circular points at infinity are the points at infinity of the isotropic
lines.
The circular points are invariant under translation and rotation.
Change of Coordinate Systems
Just as the selection of axes in the Cartesian coordinate is somewhat
arbitrary, the selection of a single system of homogeneous coordinates out of
all possible systems is somewhat arbitrary.
Therefore it is useful to know how the different systems are related to
each other.
Let (x, y, z) be the homogeneous coordinates of a point in the projective
plane and for a fixed matrix

with det(A) ≠ 0, define a new set of coordinates (X, Y, Z) by the equation

Multiplication of (x, y, z) by a scalar results in the multiplication of (X, Y,

Z) by the same scalar, and X, Y and Z cannot be all 0 unless x, y and z are all
zero since A is nonsingular. So (X, Y, Z) are a new system of homogeneous
coordinates for points in the projective plane. If z is fixed at 1 then
X = ax +by +c,Y = dx + ey + f ,Z = gx + hy + i
are proportional to the signed distances from the point to the lines
ax + by +c = 0,dx + ey + f = 0,gx + hy +i = 0.
 (The signed distance is the distance multiplied a sign 1 or -1 depending
on which side of the line the point lies.) Note that for a = b = 0 the value of X
is simply a constant, and similarly for Y and Z.
The three lines,
ax + by + cz = 0,dx + ey + fz = 0,gx + hy + iz = 0
in homogeneous coordinates, or
X = 0,Y = 0,Z = 0
in the (X, Y, Z) system, form a triangle called the triangle of reference for the
system.

Manifold
In mathematics (specifically in geometry and topology), a manifold is a
geometrical object that, near each point, resembles Euclidean space of a fixed
dimension, called the dimension of the manifold. In mathematical terms, a
manifold of dimension n is a topological space such that each point has a
neighbourhood that is homeomorphic to the Euclidean space of dimension n.
Lines and circles (but not figure eights) are one-dimensional manifolds (1-
manifolds). The plane, the sphere and the torus are examples of 2-manifolds.
Although near each point, a manifold resembles Euclidean space,
globally a manifold might not. For example, the surface of the sphere is not a
Euclidean space, but in a region it can be charted by means of geographic
maps: map projections of the region into the Euclidean plane. When a region
appears in two neighbouring maps (in the context of manifolds they are
called charts), the two representations do not coincide exactly and a
transformation is needed to pass from one to the other, called a transition
map.
The concept of a manifold is central to many parts of geometry and
modern mathematical physics because it allows more complicated structures
to be described and understood in terms of the relatively well-understood
properties of Euclidean space.
Manifolds naturally arise as solution sets of systems of equations and as
graphs of functions. Manifolds may have additional features. One important
class of manifolds is the class of differentiable manifolds.
This differentiable structure allows calculus to be done on manifolds. A
Riemannian metric on a manifold allows distances and angles to be
measured. Symplectic manifolds serve as the phase spaces in the Hamiltonian
formalism of classical mechanics, while four-dimensional Lorentzian
manifolds model space-time in general relativity.

Motivational Examples
Circle
After a line, the circle is the simplest example of a topological manifold.
Topology ignores bending, so a small piece of a circle is treated exactly the
same as a small piece of a line. Consider, for instance, the top half of the unit
circle, x2 + y2 = 1, where the y-coordinate is positive (indicated by the yellow
arc in F i g ure 1 ). Any point of this semicircle can be uniquely described by
its x-coordinate. So, projection onto the first coordinate is a continuous, and
invertible, mapping from the upper semicircle to the open interval (– 1,1):

Figure: The four charts each map part of the circle to an open interval, and together cover the whole
circle.
Such functions along with the open regions they map are called charts.
Similarly, there are charts for the bottom (red), left (blue), and right (green)
parts of the circle.
Together, these parts cover the whole circle and the four charts form an
atlas for the circle.
The top and right charts overlap: their intersection lies in the quarter of
the circle where both the x- and the y-coordinates are positive.
 The two charts χtop an d χright each map this part into the interval (0, 1).
Thus a function T from (0, 1) to itself can be constructed, which first
uses the inverse of the top chart to reach the circle and then follows the right
chart back to the interval. Let a be any number in (0, 1), then:

Such a function is called a transition map.

Figure: A circle manifold chart based on slope, covering all but one point of the circle.
The top, bottom, left, and right charts show that the circle is a manifold,
but they do not form the only possible atlas. Charts need not be geometric
projections, and the number of charts is a matter of some choice. Consider the
charts

Here s is the slope of the line through the point at coordinates (x,y) and
the fixed pivot point (-1, 0); t is the mirror image, with pivot point (+1, 0).
The inverse mapping from s to (x, y) is given by

It can easily be confirmed that x2 + y2 = 1 for all values of the slope s.

These two charts provide a second atlas for the circle, with
 Each chart omits a single point, either (-1, 0) for s or (+1, 0) for t, so
neither chart alone is sufficient to cover the whole circle. It can be proved
that it is not possible to cover the full circle with a single chart.
For example, although it is possible to construct a circle from a single
line interval by overlapping and “gluing” the ends, this does not produce a
chart; a portion of the circle will be mapped to both ends at once, losing
invertibility.
Other Curves
Manifolds need not be connected (all in “one piece”); an example is a
pair of separate circles. In this example we see that a manifold need not have
any well-defined notion of distance, for there is no way to define the distance
between points that don’t lie in the same piece.
Manifolds need not be closed; thus a line segment without its end points
is a manifold. And they are never countable, unless the dimension of the
manifold is 0. Putting these freedoms together, other examples of manifolds
are a parabola, a hyperbola (two open, infinite pieces) and the locus of points
on a cubic curve y2 = x3-x (a closed loop piece and an open, infinite piece).
However, we exclude examples like two touching circles that share a
point to form a figure-8; at the shared point we cannot create a satisfactory
chart.
Even with the bending allowed by topology, the vicinity of the shared
point looks like a “+”, not a line (a + is not homeomorphic to a closed
interval (line segment) since deleting the centre point from the + gives a
space with four components (i.e. pieces) whereas deleting a point from a
closed interval gives a space with at most two pieces; topological operations
always preserve the number of pieces).
Enriched Circle
Viewed using calc ulus, the c ircle t ransition function T is simply a
function between open intervals, which gives a meaning to the statement that
T is d ifferen tiab le. The tran sition m ap T, and all the others, are
differentiable on (0, 1); therefore, with this atlas the c ircle is a differentiable
manifold. It is also sm o o th an d analytic because the transition functions
have these properties as well. Other circle properties allow it to meet the
requirements of more specialized types of manifold. For example, the circle
has a notion of distance between two points, the arc-length between the
points; hence it is a Riemannian manifold.
History
The study of manifolds combines many important areas of mathematics:
it generalizes concepts such as curves and surfaces as well as ideas from
linear algebra and topology.
Early Development
Before the modern concept of a manifold there were several important
results.
Non-Euclidean geometry considers spaces where Euclid’s parallel
postulate fails. Saccheri first studied them in 1733. Lobachevsky, Bolyai, and
Riemann developed them 100 years later. Their research uncovered two types
of spaces whose geometric structures differ from that of classical Euclidean
space; these gave rise to hyperbolic geometry and elliptic geometry. In the
modern theory of manifolds, these notions correspond to Riemannian
manifolds with constant negative and positive curvature, respectively.
Carl Friedrich Gauss may have been the first to consider abstract spaces
as mathematical objects in their own right. His theorema egregium gives a
method for computing the curvature of a surface without considering the
ambient space in which the surface lies. Such a surface would, in modern
terminology, be called a manifold; and in modern terms, the theorem proved
that the curvature of the surface is an intrinsic property. Manifold theory has
come to focus exclusively on these intrinsic properties (or invariants), while
largely ignoring the extrinsic properties of the ambient space.
Another, more topological example of an intrinsic property of a manifold
is its Euler characteristic. Leonhard Euler showed that for a convex polytope
in the three-dimensional Euclidean space with V vertices (or corners), E
edges, and F faces,
V -E+F = 2.
The same formula will hold if we project the vertices and edges of the
polytope onto a sphere, creating a topological map with V vertices, E edges,
and F faces, and in fact, will remain true for any spherical map, even if it
does not arise from any convex polytope.
Thus 2 is a topological invariant of the sphere, called its Euler
characteristic. On the other hand, a torus can be sliced open by its ‘parallel’
and ‘meridian’ circles, creating a map with V = 1 vertex, E = 2 edges, and F =
1 face. Thus the Euler characteristic of the torus is 1 - 2 + 1 = 0.
The Euler characteristic of other surfaces is a useful topological
invariant, which can be extended to higher dimensions using Betti numbers.
In the mid nineteenth century, the Gauss–Bonnet theorem linked the Euler
characteristic to the Gaussian curvature.
Synthesi s
Investigations of Niels Henrik Abel and Carl Gustav Jacobi on inversion
of elliptic integrals in the first half of 19th century led them to consider
special types of complex manifolds, now known as Jacobians. Bernhard
Riemann further contributed to their theory, clarifying the geometric meaning
of the process of analytic continuation of functions of complex variables.
Another important source of manifolds in 19th century mathematics was
analytical mechanics, as developed by Simeon Poisson, Jacobi, and William
Rowan Hamilton. The possible states of a mechanical system are thought to
be points of an abstract space, phase space in Lagrangian and Hamiltonian
formalisms of classical mechanics. This space is, in fact, a high-dimensional
manifold, whose dimension corresponds to the degrees of freedom of the
system and where the points are specified by their generalized coordinates.
For an unconstrained movement of free particles the manifold is
equivalent to the Euclidean space, but various conservation laws constrain it
to more complicated formations, e.g. Liouville tori. The theory of a rotating
solid body, developed in the 18th century by Leonhard Euler and Joseph
Lagrange, gives another example where the manifold is nontrivial.
Geometrical and topological aspects of classical mechanics were emphasized
by Henri Poincaré, one of the founders of topology.
Riemann was the first one to do extensive work generalizing the idea of a
surface to higher dimensions. The name manifold comes from Riemann’s
original German term, Mannigfaltigkeit, which William Kingdon Clifford
translated as “manifoldness”. In his Göttingen inaugural lecture, Riemann
described the set of all possible values of a variable with certain constraints
as a Mannigfaltigkeit, because the variable can have many values. He
distinguishes between stetige Mannigfaltigkeit and diskrete Mannigfaltigkeit
(continuous manifoldness and discontinuous manifoldness), depending on
whether the value changes continuously or not.
As continuous examples, Riemann refers to not only colours and the
locations of objects in space, but also the possible shapes of a spatial figure.
Using induction, Riemann constructs an n-fach ausgedehnte Mannigfaltigkeit
(n times extended manifoldness or n-dimensional manifoldness) as a
continuous stack of (n-1) dimensional manifoldnesses. Riemann’s intuitive
notion of a Mannigfaltigkeit evolved into what is today formalized as a
manifold. Riemannian manifolds and Riemann surfaces are named after
Riemann.
Topology of Manifolds: Highlights
Two-dimensional manifolds, also known as a 2D surfaces embedded in
our common 3D space, were considered by Riemann under the guise of
Riemann surfaces, and rigorously classified in the beginning of the 20th
century by Poul Heegaard and Max Dehn. Henri Poincaré pioneered the
study of three-dimensional manifolds and raised a fundamental question
about them, today known as the Poincaré conjecture.
After nearly a century of effort by many mathematicians, starting with
Poincaré himself, a consensus among experts (as of 2006) is that Grigori
Perelman has proved the Poincaré conjecture. Bill Thurston’s geometrization
programme, formulated in the 1970s, provided a far-reaching extension of the
Poincaré conjecture to the general three-dimensional manifolds.
Four-dimensional manifolds were brought to the forefront of
mathematical research in the 1980s by Michael Freedman and in a different
setting, by Simon Donaldson, who was motivated by the then recent progress
in theoretical physics (Yang-Mills theory), where they serve as a substitute
for ordinary ‘flat’ space-time. Andrey Markov Jr. showed in 1960 that no
algorithm exists for classifying four-dimensional manifolds. Important work
on higher-dimensional manifolds, including analogues of the Poincaré
conjecture, had been done earlier by René Thom, John Milnor, Stephen
Smale and Sergei Novikov. One of the most pervasive and flexible
techniques underlying much work on the topology of manifolds is Morse
theory.
Mathematical definition
 Informally, a manifold is a space that is “modeled on” Euclidean space.
There are many different kinds of manifolds and generalizations. In geometry
and topology, all manifolds are topological manifolds, possibly with
additional structure, most often a differentiable structure. In terms of
constructing manifolds via patching, a manifold has an additional structure if
the transition maps between different patches satisfy axioms beyond just
continuity.
For instance, differentiable manifolds have homeomorphisms on
overlapping neighbourhoods diffeomorphic with each other, so that the
manifold has a well-defined set of functions which are differentiable in each
neighbourhood, and so differentiable on the manifold as a whole.
Formally, a topological manifold is a second countable Hausdorff space
that is locally homeomorphic to Euclidean space.
Second countable and Hausdorff are point-set conditions; second
countable excludes spaces which are in some sense ‘too large’ such as the
long line, while Hausdorff excludes spaces such as “the line with two
origins” (these generalizations of manifolds are discussed in non-Hausdorff
manifolds).
Locally homeomorphic to Euclidean space means that every point has a
neighbourhood homeomorphic to an open Euclidean n-ball,

Generally manifolds are taken to have a fixed dimension (the space must
be locally homeomorphic to a fixed n-ball), and such a space is called an n-
manifold; however, some authors admit manifolds where different points can
have different dimensions. If a manifold has a fixed dimension, it is called a
pure manifold. For example, the sphere has a constant dimension of 2 and is
therefore a pure manifold whereas the disjoint union of a sphere and a line in
three-dimensional space is not a pure manifold. Since dimension is a local
invariant (i.e. the map sending each point to the dimension of its
neighbourhood over which a chart is defined, is locally constant), each
connected component has a fixed dimension.
Scheme-theoretically, a manifold is a locally ringed space, whose
structure sheaf is locally isomorphic to the sheaf of continuous (or
differentiable, or complex-analytic, etc.) functions on Euclidean space. This
definition is mostly used when discussing analytic manifolds in algebraic
geometry.
Broad Definition
The broadest common definition of manifold is a topological space
locally homeomorphic to a topological vector space over the reals. This omits
the point-set axioms, allowing higher cardinalities and non-Hausdorff
manifolds; and it omits finite dimension, allowing structures such as Hilbert
manifolds to be modeled on Hilbert spaces, Banach manifolds to be modeled
on Banach spaces, and Fréchet manifolds to be modeled on Fréchet spaces.
Usually one relaxes one or the other condition: manifolds with the point-
set axioms are studied in general topology, while infinite-dimensional
manifolds are studied in functional analysis.

Charts, Atlases, and Transition Maps

The spherical Earth is navigated using flat maps or charts, collected in an
atlas. Similarly, a differentiable manifold can be described using
mathematical maps, called coordinate charts, collected in a mathematical
atlas. It is not generally possible to describe a manifold with just one chart,
because the global structure of the manifold is different from the simple
structure of the charts. For example, no single flat map can represent the
entire Earth without separation of adjacent features across the map’s
boundaries or duplication of coverage. When a manifold is constructed from
multiple overlapping charts, the regions where they overlap carry information
essential to understanding the global structure.
Charts
A coordinate map, a coordinate chart, or simply a chart, of a manifold is
an invertible map between a subset of the manifold and a simple space such
that both the map and its inverse preserve the desired structure. For a
topological manifold, the simple space is some Euclidean space Rn and
interest focuses on the topological structure. This structure is preserved by
homeomorphisms, invertible maps that are continuous in both directions.
In the case of a differentiable manifold, a set of charts called an atlas
allows us to do calculus on manifolds. Polar coordinates, for example, form a
chart for the plane R2 minus the positive x-axis and the origin. Another
example of a chart is the map χtop mentioned in the section above, a chart for
the circle.
Atlases
The description of most manifolds requires more than one chart (a single
chart is adequate for only the simplest manifolds). A specific collection of
charts which covers a manifold is called an atlas. An atlas is not unique as all
manifolds can be covered multiple ways using different combinations of
charts. Two atlases are said to be Ck equivalent if their union is also a Ck
atlas.
The atlas containing all possible charts consistent with a given atlas is
called the maximal atlas (i.e. an equivalence class containing that given atlas.
Unlike an ordinary atlas, the maximal atlas of a given manifold is unique.
Though it is useful for definitions, it is an abstract object and not used
directly (e.g. in calculations).
Transition Maps
Charts in an atlas may overlap and a single point of a manifold may be
represented in several charts. If two charts overlap, parts of them represent
the same region of the manifold, just as a map of Europe and a map of Asia
may both contain Moscow. Given two overlapping charts, a transition
function can be defined which goes from an open ball in Rn to the manifold
and then back to another (or perhaps the same) open ball in Rn. The resultant
map, like the map T in the circle example above, is called a change of
coordinates, a coordinate transformation, a transition function, or a transition
map.
Additional Structure
An atlas c an also be used to define additional struc ture on the manifold.
The structure is first defined on each chart separately. If all the transition
maps are compatible with this structure, the structure transfers to the
manifold. This is the standard way differentiable manifolds are defined. If the
transition functions of an atlas for a topological manifold preserve the natural
differential structure of Rn (that is, if they are diffeomorphisms), the
differential structure transfers to the manifold and turns it into a differentiable
manifold. Complex manifolds are introduced in an analogous way by
requiring that the transition functions of an atlas are holomorphic functions.
For symplectic manifolds, the transition functions must be
symplectomorphisms.
The structure on the manifold depends on the atlas, but sometimes
different atlases can be said to give rise to the same structure. Such atlases are
called compatible. These notions are made precise in general through the use
of pseudogroups.
Const ruction
A single manifold can be constructed in different ways, each stressing a
different aspect of the manifold, thereby leading to a slightly different
viewpoint.
Charts

Figure: The chart maps the part of the sphere with positive z coordinate to a disc.
Perhaps the simplest way to construct a manifold is the one used in the
example above of the circle. First, a subset of R2 is identified, and then an
atlas covering this subset is constructed. The concept of manifold grew
historically from constructions like this. Here is another example, applying
this method to the construction of a sphere:
Sphere with Charts
A sphere can be treated in almost the same way as the circle. In
mathematics a sphere is just the surface (not the solid interior), which can be
defined as a subset of R3:
 The sphere is two-dimensional, so each chart will map part of the sphere
to an open subset of R2. Consider the northern hemisphere, which is the part
with positive z coordinate (coloured red in the picture on the right). The
function χ defined by
χ (x y z) = (x y)
maps the northern hemisphere to the open unit disc by projecting it on the (x,
y) plane. A similar chart exists for the southern hemisphere. Together with
two charts projecting on the (x, z) plane and two charts projecting on the (y, z)
plane an atlas of six charts is obtained which covers the entire sphere. This
can be easily generalized to higher-dimensional spheres.
Patchwork
A manifold can be constructed by gluing together pieces in a consistent
manner, making them into overlapping charts. This construction is possible
for any manifold and hence it is often used as a characterisation, especially
for differentiable and Riemannian manifolds. It focuses on an atlas, as the
patches naturally provide charts, and since there is no exterior space involved
it leads to an intrinsic view of the manifold.
The manifold is constructed by specifying an atlas, which is itself
defined by transition maps. A point of the manifold is therefore an
equivalence class of points which are mapped to each other by transition
maps. Charts map equivalence classes to points of a single patch. There are
usually strong demands on the consistency of the transition maps. For
topological manifolds they are required to be homeomorphisms; if they are
also diffeomorphisms, the resulting manifold is a differentiable manifold.
This can be illustrated with the transition map t = 1D from the second
half of the circle example. Start with two copies of the line. Use the
coordinate s for the first copy, and t for the second copy. Now, glue both
copies together by identifying the point t on the second copy with the point s
= 1D on the first copy (the points t = 0 and s = 0 are not identified with any
point on the first and second copy, respectively). This gives a circle.
Intrinsic and Extrinsic View
The first construction and this construction are very similar, but they
represent rather different points of view. In the first construction, the
manifold is seen as embedded in some Euclidean space. This is the extrinsic
view. When a manifold is viewed in this way, it is easy to use intuition from
Euclidean spaces to define additional structure. For example, in a Euclidean
space it is always clear whether a vector at some point is tangential or normal
to some surface through that point
The patchwork construction does not use any embedding, but simply
views the manifold as a topological space by itself This abstract point of view
is called the intrinsic view. It can make it harder to imagine what a tangent
vector might be, and there is no intrinsic notion of a normal bundle, but
instead there is an intrinsic stable normal bundle.
n-Sphere as a Patchwork
The n-sphere Sn is a generalisation of the idea of a circle (1-sphere) and
sphere (2-sphere) to higher dimensions. An n-sphere Sn can be constructed
by gluing together two copies of Rn . The transition map between them is
defined as

This function is its own inverse and thus can be used in both directions.
As the transition map is a smooth function, this atlas defines a smooth
manifold. In the case n = 1, the example simplifies to the circle example
given earlier.
Identifying Points of a Manifold
It is possible to define different points of a manifold to be same. This can
be visualized as gluing these points together in a single point, forming a
quotient space.
There is, however, no reason to expect such quotient spaces to be
manifolds. Among the possible quotient spaces that are not necessarily
manifolds, orbifolds and CW complexes are considered to be relatively well-
behaved. An example of a quotient space of a manifold that is also a manifold
is the real projective space identified as a quotient space of the corresponding
sphere.
One method of identifying points (gluing them together) is through a
right (or left) action of a group, which acts on the manifold. Two points are
identified if one is moved onto the other by some group element. If M is the
manifold and G is the group, the resulting quotient space is denoted by M / G
(or G \ M).
 Manifolds which can be constructed by identifying points include tori
and real projective spaces (starting with a plane and a sphere, respectively).
Gluing Along Boundaries
Two manifolds with boundaries can be glued together along a boundary.
If this is done the right way, the result is also a manifold. Similarly, two
boundaries of a single manifold can be glued together.
Formally, the gluing is defined by a bijection between the two
boundaries. Two points are identified when they are mapped onto each other.
For a topological manifold this bijection should be a homeomorphism,
otherwise the result will not be a topological manifold. Similarly for a
differentiable manifold it has to be a diffeomorphism. For other manifolds
other structures should be preserved.
A finite cylinder may be constructed as a manifold by starting with a
strip [0, 1] × [0, 1] and gluing a pair of opposite edges on the boundary by a
suitable diffeomorphism. A projective plane may be obtained by gluing a
sphere with a hole in it to a Möbius strip along their respective circular
boundaries.

Manifolds with additional structure

Topological Manifolds
The simplest kind of manifold to define is the topological manifold,
which looks locally like some “ordinary” Euclidean space Rn. Formally, a
topological manifold is a topological space locally homeomorphic to a
Euclidean space. This means that every point has a neighbourhood for which
there exists a homeomorphism (a bijective continuous function whose inverse
is also continuous) mapping that neighbourhood to Rn. These
homeomorphisms are the charts of the manifold.
It is to be noted that a topological manifold looks locally like a Euclidean
space in a rather weak manner: while for each individual chart it is possible to
distinguish differentiable functions or measure distances and angles, merely
by virtue of being a topological manifold a space does not have any
particular and consistent choice of such concepts.
In order to discuss such properties for a manifold, one needs to specify
further structure and consider differentiable manifolds and Riemannian
manifolds discussed below. In particular, the same underlying topological
manifold can have several mutually incompatible classes of differentiable
functions and an infinite number of ways to specify distances and angles.
Usually additional technical assumptions on the topological space are
made to exclude pathological cases. It is customary to require that the space
be Hausdorff and second countable.
The dimension of the manifold at a certain point is the dimension of the
Euclidean space that the charts at that point map to (number n in the
definition). All points in a connected manifold have the same dimension.
Some authors require that all charts of a topological manifold map to
Euclidean spaces of same dimension. In that case every topological manifold
has a topological invariant, its dimension. Other authors allow disjoint unions
of topological manifolds with differing dimensions to be called manifolds.
Differentiable Manifolds
For most applications a special kind of topological manifold, a
differentiable manifold, is used. If the local charts on a manifold are
compatible in a certain sense, one can define directions, tangent spaces, and
differentiable functions on that manifold. In particular it is possible to use
calculus on a differentiable manifold. Each point of an n-dimensional
differentiable manifold has a tangent space. This is an n-dimensional
Euclidean space consisting of the tangent vectors of the curves through the
point.
Two important classes of differentiable manifolds are smooth and
analytic manifolds. For smooth manifolds the transition maps are smooth,
that is infinitely differentiable. Analytic manifolds are smooth manifolds with
the additional condition that the transition maps are analytic (they can be
expressed as power series). The sphere can be given analytic structure, as can
most familiar curves and surfaces.
There are also topological manifolds, i.e., locally Euclidean spaces,
which possess no differentiable structures at all.A rectifiable set generalizes
the idea of a piecewise smooth or rectifiable curve to higher dimensions;
however, rectifiable sets are not in general manifolds.
Riemannian Manifolds
 To measure distances and angles on manifolds, the manifold must be
Riemannian. A Riemannian manifold is a differentiable manifold in which
each tangent space is equipped with an inner product 0Å-,Å- 0 in a manner
which varies smoothly from point to point. Given two tangent vectors u and
v, the inner product0u,v 0gives a real number.
The dot (or scalar) product is a typical example of an inner product. This
allows one to define various notions such as length, angles, areas (or
volumes), curvature, gradients of functions and divergence of vector fields.
All differentiable manifolds (of constant dimension) can be given the
structure of a Riemannian manifold.
The Euclidean space itself carries a natural structure of Riemannian
manifold (the tangent spaces are naturally identified with the Euclidean space
itself and carry the standard scalar product of the space).
Many familiar curves and surfaces, including for example all n-spheres,
are specified as subspaces of a Euclidean space and inherit a metric from
their embedding in it.
Finsler Manifolds
A Finsler manifold allows the definition of distance but does not require
the concept of angle; it is an analytic manifold in which each tangent space is
equipped with a norm, ||·||, in a manner which varies smoothly from point to
point. This norm can be extended to a metric, defining the length of a curve;
but it cannot in general be used to define an inner product. Any Riemannian
manifold is a Finsler manifold.
Lie Groups
Lie groups, named after Sophus Lie, are differentiable manifolds that
carry also the structure of a group which is such that the group operations are
defined by smooth maps.
A Euclidean vector space with the group operation of vector addition is
an example of a non-compact Lie group. A simple example of a compact Lie
group is the circle: the group operation is simply rotation. This group, known
as U(1), can be also characterised as the group of complex numbers of
modulus 1 with multiplication as the group operation. Other examples of Lie
groups include special groups of matrices, which are all subgroups of the
general linear group, the group of n by n matrices with non-zero determinant.
If the matrix entries are real numbers, this will be an n2-dimensional
disconnected manifold. The orthogonal groups, the symmetry groups of the
sphere and hyperspheres, are n(n-1)/ 2 dimensional manifolds, where n-1 is
the dimension of the sphere. Further examples can be found in the table of
Lie groups.
Other Types of Manifolds
• A complex manifold is a manifold modeled on Cn with holomorphic
transition functions on chart overlaps. These manifolds are the basic
objects of study in complex geometry. A one-complex-dimensional
manifold is called a Riemann surface. Note that an n-dimensional
complex manifold has dimension 2n as a real differentiable manifold.
• A CR manifold is a manifold modeled on boundaries of domains in
Cn.
• Infinite dimensional manifolds: to allow for infinite dimensions, one
may consider Banach manifolds which are locally homeomorphic to
Banach spaces. Similarly, Fréchet manifolds are locally
homeomorphic to Fréchet spaces.
• A symplectic manifold is a kind of manifold which is used to
represent the phase spaces in classical mechanics. They are endowed
with a 2-form that defines the Poisson bracket. A closely related type
of manifold is a contact manifold.
• A combinatorial manifold is a kind of manifold which is
discretization of a manifold. It usually means a piecewise linear
manifold made by simplicial complexes.
• A digital manifold is a special kind of combinatorial manifold which
is defined in digital space.
Classification and Invariants
Different notions of manifolds have different notions of classification
and invariant; in this section we focus on smooth closed manifolds.
The classification of smooth closed manifolds is well-understood in
principle, except in dimension 4: in low dimensions (2 and 3) it is geometric,
via the uniformization theorem and the Solution of the Poincaré conjecture,
and in high dimension (5 and above) it is algebraic, via surgery theory. This
is a classification in principle: the general question of whether two smooth
manifolds are diffeomorphic is not computable in general. Further, specific
computations remain difficult, and there are many open questions.
Orientable surfaces can be visualized, and their diffeomorphism classes
enumerated, by genus. Given two orientable surfaces, one can determine if
they are diffeomorphic by computing their respective genera and comparing:
they are diffeomorphic if and only if the genera are equal, so the genus forms
a complete set of invariants.
This is much harder in higher dimensions: higher dimensional manifolds
cannot be directly visualized (though visual intuition is useful in
understanding them), nor can their diffeomorphism classes be enumerated,
nor can one in general determine if two different descriptions of a higher-
dimensional manifold refer to the same object.
However, one can determine if two manifolds are different if there is
some intrinsic characteristic that differentiates them. Such criteria are
commonly referred to as invariants, because, while they may be defined in
terms of some presentation (such as the genus in terms of a triangulation),
they are the same relative to all possible descriptions of a particular manifold:
they are invariant under different descriptions.
Naively, one could hope to develop an arsenal of invariant criteria that
would definitively classify all manifolds up to isomorphism. Unfortunately, it
is known that for manifolds of dimension 4 and higher, no programme exists
that can decide whether two manifolds are diffeomorphic.
Smooth manifolds have a rich set of invariants, coming from point-set
topology, classic algebraic topology, and geometric topology. The most
familiar invariants, which are visible for surfaces, are orientability (a normal
invariant, also detected by homology) and genus (a homological invariant).
Smooth closed manifolds have no local invariants (other than
dimension), though geometric manifolds have local invariants, notably the
curvature of a Riemannian manifold and the torsion of a manifold equipped
with an affine connection. This distinction between no local invariants and
local invariants is a common way to distinguish between geometry and
topology. All invariants of a smooth closed manifold are thus global.
Algebraic topology is a source of a number of important global invariant
properties. Some key criteria include the simply connected property and
orientability. Indeed several branches of mathematics, such as homology and
homotopy theory, and the theory of characteristic classes were founded in
order to study invariant properties of manifolds.
Genus and the Euler Characteristic
For two dimensional manifolds a key invariant property is the genus, or
the “number of handles” present in a surface. A torus is a sphere with one
handle, a double torus is a sphere with two handles, and so on. Indeed it is
possible to fully characterize compact, two-dimensional manifolds on the
basis of genus and orientability. In higher-dimensional manifolds genus is
replaced by the notion of Euler characteristic, and more generally Betti
numbers and homology and cohomology.
Maps of Manifolds
Just as there are various types of manifolds, there are various types of
maps of manifolds. In addition to continuous functions and smooth functions
generally, there are maps with special properties. In geometric topology a
basic type are embeddings, of which knot theory is a central example, and
generalizations such as immersions, submersions, covering spaces, and
ramified covering spaces. Basic results include the Whitney embedding
theorem and Whitney immersion theorem.
In Riemannian geometry, one may ask for maps to preserve the
Riemannian metric, leading to notions of isometric embeddings, isometric
immersions, and Riemannian submersions; a basic result is the Nash
embedding theorem.
Generalizations of Manifolds
• Orbifolds: An orbifold is a generalization of manifold allowing for
certain kinds of “singularities” in the topology. Roughly speaking, it
is a space which locally looks like the quotients of some simple space
(e.g. Euclidean space) by the actions of various finite groups. The
singularities correspond to fixed points of the group actions, and the
actions must be compatible in a certain sense.
• Manifold with corners
• Algebraic varieties and schemes: Non-singular algebraic varieties
over the real or complex numbers are manifolds. One generalizes this
first by allowing singularities, secondly by allowing different fields,
and thirdly by emulating the patching construction of manifolds:
 just as a manifold is glued together from open subsets of Euclidean
space, an algebraic variety is glued together from affine algebraic
varieties, which are zero sets of polynomials over algebraically
closed fields. Schemes are likewise glued together from affine
schemes, which are a generalization of algebraic varieties. Both are
related to manifolds, but are constructed algebraically using sheaves
instead of atlases.
Because of singular points, a variety is in general not a manifold,
though linguistically the French variété, German Mannigfaltigkeit
and English manifold are largely synonymous.
In French an algebraic variety is called une variété algébrique (an
algebraic variety), while a smooth manifold is called une variété
différentielle (a differential variety).
• CW-compl exes: A CW c omplex is a topological space formedby
gluing disks of different dimensionality together. Ingeneral the
resulting space is singular, and hence not amanifold.
However, they are of central interest in algebraic topology, especially
in homotopy theory, as they are easy to compute with and
singularities are not a concern.
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.
Transformations
A coordinate transformation is a conversion from one system to another,
to describe the same space.
With every bijection from the space to itself two coordinate
transformations can be associated:
• such that the new coordinates of the image of each point are the same
as the old coordinates of the original point (the formulas for the
mapping are the inverse of those for the coordinate transformation)
• such that the old coordinates of the image of each point are the same
as the new coordinates of the original point (the formulas for the
mapping are the same as those for the coordinate transformation)
For example, in 1D, if the mapping is a translation of 3 to the right, the
first moves the origin from 0 to 3, so that the coordinate of each point
becomes 3 less, while the second moves the origin from 0 to -3, so that the
coordinate of each point becomes 3 more.
Systems Commonly Used
Some coordinate systems are the following:
• The Cartesian coordinate system (also called the“rectangular
coordinate system”), which, for two- andthree-dimensional spaces,
uses two and three numbers(respectively) representing distances from
the origin inthree mutually perpendicular directions.
• Curvilinear coordinates are a generalization of coordinate systems
generally; the system is based on the intersection of curves.
• Polar coordinate system represents a point in the plane by a distance
from the origin and an angle measured from a reference line
intersecting the origin.
• Log-polar coordinate system represents a point in the plane by the
logarithm of the distance from the origin and an angle measured from
a reference line intersecting the origin.
• Cylindrical coordinate system represents a point in three-space using
two perpendicular axes; distance is measured along one axis, while
the other axis formes the reference line for a polar coordinate
representation of the remaining two components.
• Spherical coordinate system represents a point in three space by the
distance from the origin and two angles measured from two reference
lines which intersect the origin.
• Plücker coordinates are a way of representing lines in 3D Euclidean
space using a six-tuple of numbers as homogeneous coordinates.
 • Generalized coordinates are used in the Lagrangian treatment of
mechanics.
• Canonical coordinates are used in the Hamiltonian treatment of
mechanics.
• Parallel coordinates visualise a point in n-dimensional space as a
polyline connecting points on n vertical lines.
• Barycentric coordinates (mathematics) as used for Ter n a ry_ p lo t
There are ways of describing curves without coordinates, using
intrinsic equations that use invariant quantities such as curvature and
arc length. These include:
• Whewell equation relates arc length and tangential angle.
• Cesàro equation relates arc length and curvature.
List of Orthogonal Coordinate Systems
In mathematics, two vectors are orthogonal if they are perpendicular.
The following coordinate systems all have the properties of being orthogonal
coordinate systems, that is the coordinate surfaces meet at right angles.

6-sphere Coordinates
In mathematics, 6-sphere coordinates are the coordinate system created
by inverting the Cartesian coordinates across the unit sphere. The three
coordinates are

Since inversion is its own inverse, the equations for x, y, and z in terms
of u, v, and w are similar:

This coordinate system is R-separable for the 3-variable Laplace

equation.

Abscissa
In mathematics, abscissa (plural abscissae or abscissæ) refers to that
element of an ordered pair which is plotted on the horizontal axis of a two-
dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, as opposed to the ordinate. It is the
first of the two terms (often labelled x and y) which define the location of a
point in such a coordinate system.

The usage of the word abscissa is first recorded in 1659 by Stefano degli
Angeli, a mathematics professor in Rome, according to Moritz Cantor. Soon
thereafter, Leibniz used the term extensively in Latin in his Mathematische
Schriften (1692), after which it became a standardized mathematical term.
The first occurrence of the term in English is found in An Institution of
Fluxions by the English mathematician Humphry Ditton (1706), where he
spells the word abscisse, possibly denoting the plural.
Examples
For the point (-7, 3), -7 is called the abscissa and 3 the ordinate.
 5: Affine Coordinate System

In mathematics, an affine coordinate system is a coordinate system on an

affine space where each coordinate is an affine map to the number line. In
other words, it is an injective affine map from an affine space A to the
coordinate space kn, where k is the base field, for example, the real numbers
R. The most important case of affine coordinates in Euclidean spaces is real-
valued Cartesian coordinate system. Non-orthogonal affine coordinates are
referred to as oblique. A system of n coordinates on n-dimensional space is
defined by a (n+1)-tuple (O, R1, … R ) of points not belonging to any affine
subspace of a lesser dimension. Any given coordinate n-tuple gives the point
by the formula:

Note that Rj - O are difference vectors with the origin in O and ends in R.
An affine space cannot have a coordinate system with n less than its
dimension, but n may indeed be greater, which means that the coordinate
map is not necessary surjective. Examples of n-coordinate system in an (n-1)-
dimensional space are barycentric coordinates and affine homogeneous
coordinates (1, x1, … x 1). In the latter case the x0 coordinate is equal to 1 on
all space, n - but this “reserved” coordinate facilitates matrix representation of
affine maps.

Alpha-numeric Grid
a b c d e f
1 a1 b1 c1 d1 e1 f1
2 a2 b2 c2 d2 e2 f2
3 a3 b3 c3 d3 e3 f3
4 a4 b4 c4 d4 e4 f4
 5 a5 b5 c5 d5 e5 f5
6 a6 b6 c6 d6 e6 f6

An alphanumeric grid (also known as atlas grid) is a simple coordinate

system on a grid in which each cell is identified by a combination of a letter
and a number.
An advantage over numeric coordinates, which use two numbers instead
of a number and a letter to refer to a grid cell, is that there can be no
confusion over which coordinate refers to which direction. Algebraic chess
notation uses an alphanumeric grid to refer to the squares of a chessboard.

Astronomical Coordinate Systems

Astronomical coordinate systems are coordinate systems used in
astronomy to describe the location of objects in the sky and in the universe.
The most commonly occurring such systems are coordinate systems on the
celestial sphere, but extragalactic coordinates systems are also important for
describing more distant objects.
Coordinate Systems on the Celestial Sphere
• Horizontal coordinate system
• Equatorial coordinate system - based on Earth rotation
• Ecliptic coordinate system - based on Solar System rotation
• Galactic coordinate system - based on Milky Way rotation

Bipolar Coordinates
Bipolar coordinates are a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system.
There are two commonly defined types of bipolar coordinates. The other
system is two-centre bipolar coordinates. There is also a third coordinate
system that is based on two poles (biangular coordinates).
The first is based on the Apollonian circles. The curves of constant σ and
of τ are circles that intersect at right angles. The coordinates have two foci F1
and F2, which are generally taken to be fixed at (“a, 0) and (a, 0),
respectively, on the x-axis of a Cartesian coordinate system.
 Bipolar coordinates form the basis for several sets of three-dimensional
orthogonal coordinates. The bipolar cylindrical coordinates are produced by
projecting in the z-direction. The bispherical coordinates are produced by
rotating the bipolar coordinates about the -axis, i.e., the axis connecting the
foci, whereas the toroidal coordinates are produced by rotating the bipolar
coordinates about the y-axis, i.e., the axis separating the foci.

Figure: Bipolar coordinate system

The classic applications of bipolar coordinates are in solving partial
differential equations, e.g., Laplace’s equation or the Helmholtz equation, for
which bipolar coordinates allow a separation of variables. A typical example
would be the electric field surrounding two parallel cylindrical conductors.
The term “bipolar” is sometimes used to describe other curves having
two singular points (foci), such as ellipses, hyperbolas, and Cassini ovals.
However, the term bipolar coordinates is reserved for the coordinates
described here, and never used to describe coordinates associated with those
other curves, such as elliptic coordinates.
Definition
The most common definition of bipolar coordinates (σ, τ) is
where the σ-coordinate of a point P equals the angle F1 P F2 and the τ-
coordinate equals the natural logarithm of the ratio of the distances d1 and d2
to the foci

(Recall that F1 and F2 are located at (-a, 0) and (a, 0), respectively.)
Equivalently

Curves of Constant σ and τ

Scale Factors: The scale factors for the bipolar coordinates (σ, τ) are
equal

Thus, the infinitesimal area element equals

and the Laplacian is given by

Other differential operators such as ∇·F and ∇×xF can be expressed in

the coordinates (σ, τ) by substituting the scale factors into the general
formulae found in orthogonal coordinates.

Bipolar Cylindrical Coordinates

Bipolar cylindrical coordinates are a three-dimensional orthogonal
coordinate system that results from projecting the two-dimensional bipolar
coordinate system in the perpendicular z-direction. The two lines of foci F1
and F2 of the projected Apollonian circles are generally taken to be defined
by x = -a and x = +a , respectively, (and by y = 0 ) in the Cartesian coordinate
system.
Figure: Coordinate surfaces of the bipolar cylindrical coordinates. The yellow crescent corresponds to
σ, whereas the red tube corresponds to τ and the blue plane corresponds to z=1. The three surfaces
intersect at the point P (shown as a black sphere).
The term “bipolar” is often used to describe other curves having two
singular points (foci), such as ellipses, hyperbolas, and Cassini ovals.
However, the term bipolar coordinates i s n e v e r u s e d t o d e s c r i b
e coordinates associated with those curves, e.g., elliptic coordinates.
Basic Definition
The most common definition of bipolar cylindrical coordinates (σ,τ, z) is

where the σcoordinate of a point P equals the angle F1PF2 and the
τcoordinate equals the natural logarithm of the ratio of the distances d1 and d2
to the focal lines

(Recall that the focal lines F1 and F2 are located at x = -a and x = +a,
respectively.)
Surfaces of constant σ correspond to cylinders of different radii

that all pass through the focal lines and are not concentric. The surfaces of
constant rare non-intersecting cylinders of different radii

that surround the focal lines but again are not concentric. The focal lines and
all these cylinders are parallel to the z-axis (the direction of projection). In the
z = 0 plane, the centres of the constant-σ and constant- cylinders lie on the
and axes, respectively.
Scale Factors
The scale factors for the bipolar coordinates σ and τare equal

whereas the remaining scale factor hz = 1. Thus, the infinitesimal volume

element equals

and the Laplacian is given by

Other differential operators such as ∇·Fand ∇×Fcan be expressed in

the coordinates (σ,τ) by substituting the scale factors into the general
formulae found in orthogonal coordinates.
Applications
The classic applications of bipolar coordinates are in solving partial
differential equations, eg., Laplace’s equation or the Helmholtz equation, for
which bipolar coordinates allow a separation of variables. A typical example
would be the electric field surrounding two parallel cylindrical conductors.

Bispherical Coordinates
 Illustration of bispherical coordinates, which are obtained by rotating a
two-dimensional bipolar coordinate system about the axis joining its two foci.
The foci are located at distance 1 from the vertical z-axis. The red self-
interecting torus is the o=45° isosurface, the blue sphere is the x=0.5
isosurface, and the yellow half-plane is the φ=60° isosurface. The green half-
plane marks the x-z plane, from which φ is measured. The black point is
located at the intersection of the red, blue and yellow isosurfaces, at Cartesian
coordinates roughly (0.841, -1.456, 1.239).
Bispherical coordinates are a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate
system that results from rotating the two-dimensional bipolar coordinate
system about the axis that connects the two foci. Thus, the two foci F1 and F
in bipolar coordinates remain points (on the z-axis, the axis of rotation) in the
bispherical coordinate system.

Hyperbolic Coordinates
In mathematics, hyperbolic coordinates are a method of locating points
in Quadrant I of the Cartesian plane

Hyperbolic coordinates take values in the hyperbolic plane defined as:

These coordinates in HP are useful for studying logarithmic comparisons

of direct proportion in Q and measuring deviations from direct proportion
For (x,y)in Q take
 Sometimes the parametre u is called hyperbolic angle and v the
geometric mean
The inverse mapping is

This is a continuous mapping, but not an analytic function.

Quadrant Model of Hyperbolic Geometry
The correspondence

affords the hyperbolic geometry structure to Q that is erected on HP by

hyperbolic motions. The hyperbolic lines in Q are rays from the origin or
petal-shaped curves leaving and re-entering the origin. The left-right shift in
HP corresponds to a squeeze mapping applied to Q. Note that hyperbolas in
Q do not represent geodesics in this model.
If one only considers the Euclidean topology of the plane and the
topology inherited by Q, then the lines bounding Q seem close to Q. Insight
from the metric space HP shows that the open set Q has only the origin as
boundary when viewed as the quadrant model of the hyperbolic plane.
Indeed, consider rays from the origin in Q, and their images, vertical rays
from the boundary R of HP. Any point in HP is an infinite distance from the
point p at the foot of the perpendicular to R, but a sequence of points on this
perpendicular may tend in the direction of p. The corresponding sequence in
Q tends along a ray towards the origin. The old Euclidean boundary of Q is
irrelevant to the quadrant model.
Applications in Physical Science
Physical unit relations like:
• V = I R : Ohm’s law
• P = V I : Electrical power
• P V = k T : Ideal gas law
• f λ = c : Sine waves
all suggest looking carefully at the quadrant. For example, in
thermodynamics the isothermal process explicitly follows the hyperbolic path
and work can be interpreted as a hyperbolic angle change. Similarly, an
isobaric process may trace a hyperbola in the quadrant of absolute
temperature and gas density.
Statistical Applications
• Comparative study of population density in the quadrant begins with
selecting a reference nation, region, or urban area whose population
and area are taken as the point (1,1).
• Analysis of the elected representation of regions in a representative
democracy begins with selection of a standard for comparison: a
particular represented group, whose magnitude and slate magnitude
(of representatives) stands at (1,1) in the quadrant.
Economic Applications
There are many natural applications of hyperbolic coordinates in
economics:
Analysis of currency exchange rate fluctuation:
The unit currency sets x = 1. The price currency corresponds to y. For
0< y<1
we find u > 0 , a positive hyperbolic angle. For a fluctuation take a new
price
0< z< y
Then the change in u is:

Quantifying exchange rate fluctuation through hyperbolic angle provides

an objective, symmetric, and consistent measure. The quantity ?u is the
length of the left-right shift in the hyperbolic motion view of the currency
fluctuation.
• Analysis of inflation or deflation of prices of a basket of consumer
goods.
• Quantification of change in marketshare in duopoly.
• Corporate stock splits versus stock buy-back.
History
While the geometric mean is an ancient concept, the hyperbolic angle is
contemporary with the development of logarithm, the latter part of the
seventeenth century. Gregoire de Saint-Vincent, Marin Mersenne, and
Alphonse Antonio de Sarasa evaluated the quadrature of the hyperbola as a
function having properties now familiar for the logarithm.
The exponential function, the hyperbolic sine, and the hyperbolic cosine
followed. As complex function theory referred to infinite series the circular
functions sine and cosine seemed to absorb the hyperbolic sine and cosine as
depending on an imaginary variable.
In the nineteenth century biquaternions came into use and exposed the
alternative complex plane called split-complex numbers where the hyperbolic
angle is raised to a level equal to the classical angle. In English literature
biquaternions were used to model spacetime and show its symmetries. There
the hyperbolic angle parametre came to be called rapidity. For relativists,
examining the quadrant as the possible future between oppositely directed
photons, the geometric mean parametre is temporal.
In relativity the focus is on the 3-dimensional hypersurface in the future
of spacetime where various velocities arrive after a given proper time. Scott
Walter explains that in November 1907 Herman Minkowski alluded to a
well-known three-dimensional hyperbolic geometry while speaking to the
Göttingen Mathematical Society, but not to a four-dimensional one. In tribute
to Wolfgang Rindler, the author of the standard introductory university-level
textbook on relativity, hyperbolic coordinates of spacetime are called Rindler
coordinates.

Identity Line
In a 2-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, with x representing the
abscissa and y the ordinate, the identity line is the y = x line. The line,
sometimes called the 1:1 line, has a slope of 1. When the abscissa and
ordinate are on the same scale, the identity line forms a 45° angle with the
abscissa, and is thus also, informally, called the 45° line.
The line is often used as a reference in a 2-dimensional scatter plot
comparing two sets of data expected to be identical under ideal conditions.
When the corresponding data points from the two data sets are equal to each
other, the corresponding scatters fall exactly on the identity line.

Jacobi Coordinates
In the theory of many-particle systems, Jacobi coordinates often are used
to simplify the mathematical formulation. These coordinates are particularly
common in treating polyatomic molecules and chemical reactions, and in
celestial mechanics. An algorithm for generating the Jacobi coordinates for N
bodies may be based upon binary trees. In words, the algorithm is described
as follows:
Let mj and mk be the masses of two bodies that are replaced by a new
body of virtual mass M = mj + mk. The position coordinates xj and xk are
replaced by their relative position rjk = xj – xk and by the vector to their centre
of mass Rjk = (mj qj + mkqk)/(mj + mk). The node in the binary tree
corresponding to the virtual body has mj as its right child and mk as its left
child. The order of children indicates the relative coordinate points from xk to
xj. Repeat the above step for N - 1 bodies, that is, the N - 2 original bodies
plus the new virtual body.
For the four-body problem the result is:

The vector R is the centre of mass of all the bodies:

Line Coordinates
In geometry, line coordinates are used to specify the position of a line
just as point coordinates (or simply coordinates) are used to specify the
position of a point.
Lines in the Plane
 There are several possible ways to specify the position of a line in the
plane. A simple way is by the pair (m, b) where the equation of the line is y
=mx + b. Here m is the slope and b is the x-intercept. This system specifies
coordinates for all lines that are not vertical.
However, it is more common and simpler algebraically to use
coordinates (l, m) where the equation of the line is lx + my + 1 = 0. This
system specifies coordinates for all lines except those that pass through the
origin. The geometrical interpretations of l and m are the negative reciprocals
of the x and y-intercept respectively.
The exclusion of lines passing through the origin can be resolved by
using a system of three coordinates (l, m, n) to specify the line in which the
equation, lx + my + n = 0. Here l and m may not both be 0. In this equation,
only the ratios between l, m and n are significant, in other words if the
coordinates are multiplied by a non-zero scalar then line represented remains
the same. So (l, m, n) is a system of homogeneous coordinates for the line.
If points in the plane are represented by homogeneous coordinates (x, y,
z), the equation of the line is lx + my + nz = 0. In this context, l, m and n may
not all be 0. In particular, (0, 0, 1) represents the line z = 0, which is the line
at infinity in the projective plane. The coordinates (0, 1, 0) and (1, 0, 0)
represent the x and y-axes respectively.
Tangential Equations
Just as f(x, y) = 0 can represent a curve as a subset of the points in the
plane, the equation ϕ(l, m) = 0 represents a subset of the lines on the plain.
The set of lines on the plane may, in an abstract sense, be thought of as the
set of points in a projective plane, the dual of the original plane. The equation
ϕ(l, m) = 0 then represents a curve in the dual plane.
For a curve f(x, y) = 0 in the plane, the tangents to the curve form a curve
in the dual space called the dual curve. If ϕ(l, m) = 0 is the equation of the
dual curve, then it is called the tangential equation, for the original curve. A
given equation ϕ(l, m) = 0 represents a curve in the original plane determined
as the envelope of the lines that satisfy this equation.
Similarly, if ϕ(l, m, n) is a homogeneous function then ϕ(l, m, n) = 0
represents a curve in the dual space given in homogeneous coordinates, and
may be called the homogeneous tangential equation of the enveloped curve.
Tangential equations are useful in the study of curves defined as
envelopes, just as Cartesian equations are useful in the study of curves
defined as loci.
Tangential Equation of a Point
A linear equation in line coordinates has the form al + bm + c = 0, where
a, b and c are constants. Suppose (l, m) is a line that satisfies this equation. If
c is not 0 then lx + my + 1 = 0, where x = a/c and y = b/c, so every line
satisfying the original equation passes though the point (x, y).
Conversely, any line through (x, y) satisfies the original equation, so al +
bm + c = 0 is the equation of set of lines through (x, y). For a given point (x,
y), the equation of the set of lines though it is lx + my + 1 = 0, so this may be
defined as the tangential equation of the point. Similarly, for a point (x, y, z)
given in homogeneous coordinates, then the equation of the point in
homogeneous tangential coordinates is (lx, my, nz) = 0.
Formulas
The intersection of the lines (l1, m1) and (l2, m2) is the solution to the
linear equations

By Cramer’s rule, the solution is

The lines (l1, m1), (l2, m2), and (l3, m3) are concurrent when the
determinant

For homogeneous coordinates, the intersection of the lines (l1, m1, n1)
and (l2, m2, n2) is
(m1n2 -m2n1,l2n1 -l1n2,l1m2 -l2m1).
The lines (l1, m1, n1), (l2, m2, n2) and (l3, m3, n3) are concurrent when the
determinant
 Dually, the coordinates of the line containing (x1, y1, z1) and (x2, y2, z2)
are
(y1z2 - y2z1,x2z1 - x1z2 ,x1y2 - x2y1).

Lines in Three-dimensional Space

For two given points in the plane, (x1, y1, z1) and (x2, y2, z2), the three
determinants
x1y-x2y1x1z-x2z1y1z-yz1
determine the line containing them. Similarly, for two points in three-
dimensional space (x1, y1, z1, w1) and (x2, y2, z2, w2), the line containing them
is determined by the six determinants

This is the basis for a system of homogeneous line coordinates in three-

dimensional space called Plücker coordinates. Six numbers in a set of
coordinates only represent a line when they satisfy an additional equation.
This system maps the space of lines in three-dimensional space to a
projective space of dimension five, but with the additional requirement the
space of lines is a manifold of dimension four.
More generally, the lines in n-dimensional projective space are
determined by a system of n(n - 1)/2 homogeneous coordinates that satisfy a
set of (n - 2)(n - 3)/2 conditions, resulting in a manifold of dimension 2(n -
1).

Log-polar Coordinates
Log-polar coordinates (or logarithmic polar coordinates) is a coordinate
system in two dimensions, where a point is identified by two numbers, one
for the logarithm of the distance to a certain point, and one for an angle.
Log-polar coordinates are closely connected to polar coordinates, which
are usually used to describe domains in the plane with some sort of rotational
symmetry. In areas like harmonic and complex analysis, the log-polar
coordinates are more canonical than polar coordinates.
Definition and Coordinate Transformations
Log-polar coordinates in the plane consist of a pair of real numbers
(ρ,θ), where θ is the logarithm of the distance to a given point (the origin) and
is the angle between a line of reference (the x-axis) and the line through the
origin and the point. The angular coordinate is the same as for polar
coordinates, while the radial coordinate is transformed according to the rule
r = eρ.
where r is the distance to the origin. The formulas for transformation from
Cartesian coordinates to log-polar coordinates are given by

and the formulas for transformation from log-polar to Cartesian coordinates

are

By using complex numbers (x, y) = x + iy, the latter transformation can

be written as
x + iy = eρ + i θ
i.e. the complex exponential function. From this follows that basic equations
in harmonic and complex analysis will have the same simple form as in
Cartesian coordinates. This is not the case for polar coordinates.

Some Important Equations in Log-polar Coordinates

Laplace’s Equation
Laplace’s equation in two dimensions is given by

in Cartesian coordinates. Writing the same equation in polar coordinates

gives the more complicated equation
 However, from the relation r = eρit follows that Laplace’s
equation in log-polar coordinates,

has the same simple expression as in Cartesian coordinates. This is true for
all coordinate systems where the transformation to Cartesian coordinates is
given by a conformal mapping.
Thus, when considering Laplace’s equation for a part of the plane with
rotational symmetry e.g. a circular disk, log-polar coordinates is the natural
choice.
Dirichlet-to-Neumann Function
The latter coordinate system is for instance suitable for dealing with
Dirichlet-to-Neumann functions. If the discrete coordinate system is
interpreted as an undirected graph in the unit disc, it can be considered as a
model for an electrical network.
To every line segment in the graph is associated a conductance given by
a function/.
The electrical network will then serve as a discrete model for the
Dirichlet problem in the unit disc, where the Laplace equation takes the form
of Kirchhoff’s law
On the nodes on the boundary of the circle, an electrical potential
(Dirichlet data) is defined, which induces an electrical current (Neumann
data) through the boundary nodes.
The linear function A, mapping Dirichlet data to Neumann data is called
a Dirichlet-to-Neumann function, and depends on the topology and
conductance of the network.
In the case with the continuous disc, it follows that if the conductance is
homogeneous, let’s say y = 1 everywhere, then the Dirichlet-to-Neumann
function satisfies the following equation
 In order to get a good discrete model of the Dirichlet problem, it would
be useful to find a graph in the unit disc whose (discrete) Dirichlet-to-
Neumann function has the same property.
Even though polar coordinates don’t give us any answer, this is exactly
what the spiral network given by log-polar coordinates provides us with.
Image Analysis
Already at the end of the 1970s, applications for the discrete spiral
coordinate system were given in image analysis. To represent an image in
this coordinate system rather than in Cartesian coordinates, gives
computational advantages when rotating or zooming in an image.
Also, the photo receptors in the retina in the human eye are distributed in
a way that has big similarities with the spiral coordinate system. It can also be
found in the Mandelbrot fractal.
Log-polar coordinates can also be used to construct fast methods for the
Radon transform and its inverse.
 6: Orthogonal Coordinates

In mathematics, orthogonal coordinates are defined as a set of d

coordinates q = (q1, q 2 , .., qd) in which the coordinate surfaces all meet at
right angles (note: superscripts are indices, not exponents). A coordinate
surface for a particular coordinate qk is the curve, surface, or hypersurface on
which qk is a constant. For example, the three-dimensional Cartesian
coordinates (x, y, z) is an orthogonal coordinate system, since its coordinate
surfaces x = constant, y = constant, and z = constant are planes that meet at
right angles to one another, i.e., are perpendicular. Orthogonal coordinates
are a special but extremely common case of curvilinear coordinates. While
vector operations and physical laws are normally easiest to derive in
Cartesian coordinates, non-Cartesian orthogonal coordinates are often used
instead for the solution of various problems, especially boundary value
problems, such as those arising in field theories of quantum mechanics, fluid
flow, electrodynamics and the diffusion of chemical species or heat.
The chief advantage of non-Cartesian coordinates is that they can be
chosen to match the symmetry of the problem. For example, the pressure
wave due to an explosion far from the ground (or other barriers) depends on
3D space in Cartesian coordinates, however the pressure predominantly
moves away from the centre, so that in spherical coordinates the problem
becomes very nearly one dimensional (since the pressure wave dominantly
depends only on time and the distance from the centre). Another example is
(slow) fluid in a straight circular pipe: in Cartesian coordinates, one has to
solve a (difficult) two dimensional boundary value problem involving a
partial differential equation, but in cylindrical coordinates the problem
becomes one dimensional with an ordinary differential equation instead of a
partial differential equation. The reason to prefer orthogonal coordinates
instead of general curvilinear coordinates is simplicity: many complications
arise when coordinates are not orthogonal.
For example, in orthogonal coordinates many problems may be solved
by separation of variables. Separation of variables is a mathematical
technique that converts a complex d-dimensional problem into d one-
dimensional problems that can be solved in terms of known functions. Many
equations can be reduced to Laplace’s equation or the Helmholtz equation.
Laplace’s equation is separable in 13 orthogonal coordinate systems, and the
Helmholtz equation is separable in 11 orthogonal coordinate systems.
Orthogonal coordinates never have off-diagonal terms in their metric tensor.
In other words, the infinitesimal squared distance ds2 can always be written
as a scaled sum of the squared infinitesimal coordinate displacements

where d is the dimension and the scaling functions (or scale factors)

equal the square roots of the diagonal components of the metric tensor, or the
lengths of the local basis vectors ek described below. These scaling functions
hi ar e used to calculate differential operators in the new coordinates, e.g., the
gradient, the Laplacian, the divergence and the curl.
A simple method for generating orthogonal coordinates systems in two
dimensions is by a conformal mapping of a standard two-dimensional grid of
Cartesian coordinates (x, y). A complex number z = x + iy can be formed
from the real coordinates x and y, where i represents the square root of -1.
Any holomorphic function w = f(z) with non-zero complex derivative will
produce a conformal mapping; if the resulting complex number is written w =
u + iv, then the curves of constant u and v intersect at right angles, just as the
original lines of constant x and y did. Orthogonal coordinates in three and
higher dimensions can be generated from an orthogonal two-dimensional
coordinate system, either by projecting it into a new dimension (cylindrical
coordinates) or by rotating the two-dimensional system about one of its
symmetry axes. However, there are other orthogonal coordinate systems in
three dimensions that cannot be obtained by projecting or rotating a two-
dimensional system, such as the ellipsoidal coordinates. More general
orthogonal coordinates may be obtained by starting with some necessary
coordinate surfaces and considering their orthogonal trajectories.

Basis Vectors
Covariant Vasis
In Cartesian coordinates, the basis vectors are fixed (constant). In the
more general setting of curvilinear coordinates, a point in space is specified
by the coordinates, and at every such point there is bound a set of basis
vectors, which generally are not constant: this is the essence of curvilinear
coordinates in general and is a very important concept. What distinguishes
orthogonal coordinates is that, though the basis vectors vary, they are always
orthogonal with respect to each other. In other words,

These basis vectors are by definition the tangent vectors of the curves
obtained by varying one coordinate, keeping the others fixed:

Figure: Visualization of 2D orthogonal coordinates. Curves obtained by holding all but one coordinate
constant are shown, along with basis vectors. Note that the basis vectors aren’t of equal length: they
need not be, they only need to be orthogonal.

where r is some point and qi is the coordinate for which the basis vector is
extracted. In other words, a curve is obtained by fixing all but one coordinate;
the unfixed coordinate is varied as in a parametric curve, and the derivative of
the curve with respect to the parametre (the varying coordinate) is the basis
vector for that coordinate.
Note that the vectors are not necessarily of equal length. The normalized
basis vectors are notated with a hat and obtained by dividing by the length:

A vector field may be specified by its components with respect to the

basis vectors or the normalized basis vectors, one must be sure which case is
dealt. Components in the normalized basis are most common in applications
for clarity of the quantities (for example, one may want to deal with
tangential velocity instead of tangential velocity times a scale factor); in
derivations the normalized basis is less common since it is more complicated.
The useful functions known as scale factors (sometimes called Lamé
coefficients, this should be avoided since some more well known coefficients
in linear elasticity carry the same name) of the coordinates are simply the
lengths of the basis vectors.
Contravariant Basis
The basis vectors shown above are covariant basis vectors (because they
“co-vary” with vectors). In the case of orthogonal coordinates, the
contravariant basis vectors are easy to find since they will be in the same
direction as the covariant vectors but reciprocal length (for this reason, the
two sets of basis vectors are said to be reciprocal with respect to each other):

this follows from the fact that, by definition, ei ·ej =δij , using the Kronecker
delta. Note that:

We now face three different basis sets commonly used to describe

vectors in orthogonal coordinates: the covariant basis ei, the contravariant
basis ei, and the normalized basis κi. While a vector is an objective quantity,
meaning its identity is independent of any coordinate system, the components
of a vector depend on what basis the vector is represented in. To avoid
confusion, the components of the vector x with respect to the ei basis are
represented as xi, while the components with respect to the ei basis are
represented as xi:

The position of the indices represent how the components are calculated
(upper indices should not be confused with exponentiation). Note that the
summation symbols Σ (capital Sigma) and the summation range, indicating
summation over all basis vectors (i = 1, 2, ..., d), are often omitted. The
components are related simply by:
 hi2xi =xi
There is no distinguishing widespread notation in use for vector
components with respect to the normalized basis; in this article we’ll use
subscripts for vector components and note that the components are calculated
in the normalized basis.
Vector Algebra
Vector addition and negation are done component-wise just as in
Cartesian coordinates with no complication. Extra considerations may be
necessary for other vector operations. Note however, that all of these
operations assume that two vectors in a vector field are bound to the same
point (in other words, the tails of vectors coincide). Since basis vectors
generally vary in orthogonal coordinates, if two vectors are added whose
components are calculated at different points in space, the different basis
vectors require consideration.
Dot Product
The dot product in Cartesian coordinates (Euclidean space with an
orthonormal basis set) is simply the sum of the products of components. In
orthogonal coordinates, the dot product of two vectors x and y takes this
familiar form when the components of the vectors are calculated in the
normalized basis:

This is an immediate consequence of the fact that the normalized basis at

some point can form a Cartesian coordinate system: the basis set is
orthonormal.
For components in the covariant or contraviant bases,

This can be readily derived by writing out the vectors in component

form, normalizing the basis vectors, and taking the dot product. For example,
in 2D:
where the fact that the normalized covariant and contravariant bases are equal
has been used.
Cross Product
The cross product in 3D Cartesian coordinates is:

The above formula then remains valid in orthogonal coordinates if the

components are calculated in the normalized basis.
To construct the cross product in orthogonal coordinates with covariant
or contravariant bases we again must simply normalize the basis vectors, for
example:

which, written expanded out,

Terse notation for the cross product, which simplifies generalization to

non-orthogonal coordinates and higher dimensions, is possible with the Levi-
Civita tensor, which will have components other than zeros and ones if the
scale factors are not all equal to one.

Vector Calculus
Differentiation
Looking at an infinitesimal displacement from some point, it’s apparent
that

By definition, the gradient of a function must satisfy (this definition

remains true if ƒ is any tensor)

It follows then that del operator must be:

and this happens to remain true in general curvilinear coordinates. Quantities

like the gradient and Laplacian follow through proper application of this
operator.
Differential Operators in Three Dimensions
Since these operations are common in application, all vector components
in this section are presented with respect to the normalized basis.
The gradient of a scalar equals

The Laplacian of a scalar equals

The divergence of a vector equals

Parabolic Cylindrical Coordinates

 Figure: Coordinate surfaces of parabolic cylindrical coordinates. The red parabolic cylinder
corresponds to 0=2, whereas the yellow parabolic cylinder corresponds to t=1. The blue plane
corresponds to z=2. These surfaces intersect at the point P (shown as a black sphere), which has
Cartesian coordinates roughly (2, -1.5, 2).
In mathematics, parabolic cylindrical coordinates are a three-dimensional
orthogonal coordinate system that results from projecting the two-
dimensional parabolic coordinate system in the perpendicular z-direction.
Hence, the coordinate surfaces are confocal parabolic cylinders.
Parabolic cylindrical coordinates have found many applications, e.g., the
potential theory of edges.
Basic Definition
The parabolic cylindrical coordinates (σ,τ,z) are defined in terms of the
Cartesian coordinates (x,y,z) by:

The surfaces of constant σform confocal parabolic cylinders

that open towards +y , whereas the surfaces of constant τform confocal

parabolic cylinders

that open in the opposite direction, i.e., towards -y . The foci of all these
parabolic cylinders are located along the line defined by x = y = 0 . The radius
r has a simple formula as well
that proves useful in solving the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in parabolic
coordinates for the inverse-square central force problem of mechanics.
Scale Factors
The scale factors for the parabolic cylindrical coordinates σand τare:

The infinitesimal element of volume is

and the Laplacian equals

Other differential operators such as ∇·Fand ∇×F can be expressed in

the coordinates (σ,τ) by substituting the scale factors into the general
formulae found in orthogonal coordinates.
Parabolic Cylinder Harmonics
Since all of the surfaces of constant o, x and z are conicoid, Laplace’s
equation is separable in parabolic cylindrical coordinates. Using the
technique of the separation of variables, a separated solution to Laplace’s
equation may be written:
V = S(<t)T(t)Z(z)
and Laplace’s equation, divided by V , is written:

Since the Z equation is separate from the rest, we may write

where m is constant. Z(z) has the solution:

Substituting _m2for Z/Z , Laplace’s equation may now be written:

 We may now separate the S and T functions and introduce another
constant n2 to obtain:

The solutions to these equations are the parabolic cylinder functions

The parabolic cylinder harmonics for (m,n) are now the product of the
solutions. The combination will reduce the number of constants and the
general solution to Laplace’s equation may be written:

Applications
The classic applications of parabolic cylindrical coordinates are in
solving partial differential equations, e.g., Laplace’s equation or the
Helmholtz equation, for which such coordinates allow a separation of
variables.
A typical example would be the electric field surrounding a flat semi-
infinite conducting plate.

Two-centre Bipolar Coordinates

Figure: Two-centre bipolar coordinates.

In mathematics, two-centre bipolar coordinates is a coordinate system,
based on two coordinates which give distances from two fixed centres, C1
and C2 This system is very useful in some scientific applications It should not
be confused with so-called bipolar coordinates.
Cartesian coordinates

Figure: Cartesian coordinates and polar coordinates.

Transformation to Cartesian coordinates (x, y) from two-centre bipolar
coordinates (r1 , r2)

where the centres of this coordinate system are at (+a, 0) and (a, 0).
Polar Coordinates
To polar coordinates from two-centre bipolar coordinates

Where 2a is the distance between the poles (coordinate system centres).

Darboux’s Theorem
Darboux’s theorem is a theorem in the mathematical field of differential
geometry and more specifically differential forms, partially generalizing the
Frobenius integration theorem. It is a foundational result in several fields, the
chief among them being symplectic geometry The theorem is named after
Jean Gaston Darboux who established it as the solution of the Pfaff problem.
One of the many consequences of the theorem is that any two symplectic
manifolds of the same dimension are locally symplectomorphic to one
another. That is, every 2n-dimensional symplectic manifold can be made to
look locally like the linear symplectic space Cn with its canonical symplectic
form. There is also an analogous consequence of the theorem as applied to
contact geometry.
Statement and First Consequences
The precise statement is as follows. Suppose that θ is a differential 1-
form on an n dimensional manifold, such that dθ has constant rank p. If

then there is a local system of coordinates x1,...,xn - p, y1, ..., yp in which

If, on the other hand,

then there is a local system of coordinates x1,...,x , y1, ..., yin which n - p p

In particular, suppose that ω is a symplectic 2-form on an n=2m

dimensional manifold M. In a neighbourhood of each point p of M, by the
Poincaré lemma, there is a 1-form θ with dθ =ω. Moreover, θ satisfies the
first set of hypotheses in Darboux’s theorem, and so locally there is a
coordinate chart U near p in which

Taking an exterior derivative now shows

The chart U is said to be a Darboux chart around p. The manifold M can

be covered by such charts.
To state this differently, identify R2m with Cm by letting z = xj + i y. If φ
: U → Cn is a Darboux chart, then a, is the pullback of the standard
symplectic form o0 on C n:

Comparison with Riemannian Geometry

This result implies that there are no local invariants in symplectic
geometry: a Darboux basis can always be taken, valid near any given point.
This is in marked contrast to the situation in Riemannian geometry where the
curvature is a local invariant, an obstruction to the metric being locally a sum
of squares of coordinate differentials.
The difference is that Darboux’s theorem states that a, can be made to
take the standard form in an entire neighbourhood around p. In Riemannian
geometry, the metric can always be made to take the standard form at any
given point, but not always in a neighbourhood around that point.

Isothermal Coordinates
In mathematics, specifically in differential geometry, isothermal
coordinates on a Riemannian manifold are local coordinates where the metric
is conformal to the Euclidean metric. This means that in isothermal
coordinates, the Riemannian metric locally has the form

where φ is a smooth function.

Isothermal coordinates on surfaces were first introduced by Gauss. Korn
and Lichtenstein proved that isothermal coordinates exist around any point on
a two dimensional Riemannian manifold.
On higher dimensional Riemannian manifolds a necessary and sufficient
condition for their local existence is the vanishing of the Weyl tensor and of
the Cotton tensor.
Isothermal Coordinates on Surfaces
The first result on the existence of isothermal coordinates was due to
Korn (1916) and Lichtenstein (1916).
Later accounts were given by Morrey (1938), Ahlfors (1955), Bers
(1952) and Chern (1955). A particularly simple account using the Hodge star
operator is given in DeTurck & Kazdan (1981).
Beltrami Equation
The existence of isothermal coordinates can be proved by applying
known existence theorems for the Beltrami equation, which rely on Lp
estimates for singular integral operators of Calderon and Zygmund.
A simpler approach to the Beltrami equation has been given more
recently by the late Adrien Douady
If the Riemannian metric is given locally as

then in the complex coordinate z = x + iy, it takes the form

where λ and μ are smooth with λ > 0 and |μ| < 1. In fact

In isothermal coordinates (u, v) the metric should take the form

with ρ > 0 smooth. The complex coordinate w = u + i v satisfies

so that the coordinates (u, v) will be isothermal if the Beltrami equation

has a diffeomorphic solution. Such a solution has been proved to exist in any
neighbourhood where | |μ|| _ < 1.
Gaussian Curvature
In the isothermal coordinates (u, v), the Gaussian curvature takes the
simpler form

where ρ = e*.

Normal Coordinates
In differential geometry, normal coordinates at a point p in a
differentiable manifold equipped with a symmetric affine connection are a
local coordinate system in a neighbourhood of p obtained by applying the
exponential map to the tangent space at p. In a normal coordinate system, the
Christoffel symbols of the connection vanish at the point p, thus often
simplifying local calculations. In normal coordinates associated to the Levi
Civita connection of a Riemannian manifold, one can additionally arrange
that the metric tensor is the Kronecker delta at the point p, and that the first
partial derivatives of the metric at p vanish.
A basic result of differential geometry states that normal coordinates at a
point always exist on a manifold with a symmetric affine connection. In such
coordinates the covariant derivative reduces to a partial derivative (at p only),
and the geodesics through p are locally linear functions of t (the affine
parametre). This idea was implemented in a fundamental way by Albert
Einstein in the general theory of relativity: the equivalence principle uses
normal coordinates via inertial frames. Normal coordinates always exist for
the Levi-Civita connection of a Riemannian or Pseudo-Riemannian manifold.
By contrast, there is no way to define normal coordinates for Finsler
manifolds (Busemann 1955).
Geodesic Normal Coordinates
Geodesic normal coordinates are local coordinates on a manifold with an
affine connection afforded by the exponential map

given by any basis of the tangent space at the fixed basepoint p -M. If the
additional structure of a Riemannian metric is imposed, then the basis defined
by E may be required in addition to be orthonormal, and the resulting
coordinate system is then known as a Riemannian normal coordinate system.
Normal coordinates exist on a normal neighbourhood of a point p in M. A
normal neighbourhood U is a subset of M such that there is a proper
neighbourhood V of the origin in the tangent space T M and exp acts as a
diffeomorphism between U and V. Now let U be a normal neighbourhood of
p in M then the chart is given by:

The isomorphism E can be any isomorphism between both vectorspaces,

so there are as many charts as different orthonormal bases exist in the domain
of E.
Polar Coordinates
On a Riemannian manifold, a normal coordinate system at p facilitates
the introduction of a system of spherical coordinates, known as polar
coordinates. These are the coordinates on M obtained by introducing the
standard spherical coordinate system on the Euclidean space T M. That is,
one introduces on T M the standard spherical coordinate system (r,φ) where r
≥ 0 is the radial parametre and φ = (φ1,...,φn-1) is a parameterization of the (n-
1)-sphere. Composition of (r,φ) with the inverse of the exponential map at p
is a polar coordinate system. Polar coordinates provide a number of
fundamental tools in Riemannian geometry. The radial coordinate is the most
significant: geometrically it represents the geodesic distance to p of nearby
points. Gauss’s lemma asserts that the gradient of r is simply the partial
derivative ∂/∂r . That is,

for any smooth function ƒ. As a result, the metric in polar coordinates

assumes a block diagonal form
 7: Quadratic Equation

In mathematics, a quadratic equation is a univariate polynomial equation

of the second degree. A general quadratic equation can be written in the form
ax2+bx + c = 0,
where x represents a variable or an unknown, and a, b, and c are constants
with a ≠ 0. (If a = 0, the equation is a linear equation.)
The constants a, b, and c are called respectively, the quadratic
coefficient, the linear coefficient and the constant term or free term.
The term “quadratic” comes from quadratus, which is the Latin word for
“square”. Quadratic equations can be solved by factoring, completing the
square, graphing, Newton’s method, and using the quadratic formula (given
below).

Quadratic Formula
A quadratic equation with real or complex coefficients has two solutions,
called roots. These two solutions may or may not be distinct, and they may or
may not be real.
Having
ax2+bx + c = 0,
the roots are given by the quadratic formula

where the symbol “±” indicates that both

are solutions of the quadratic equation.

Discriminant
 In the above formula, the expression underneath the square root sign is
called the discriminant of the quadratic equation, and is often represented
using an upper case D or an upper case Greek delta, the initial of the Greek
word Diakrínousa, discriminant:
Δ = b2 -4ac.
A quadratic equation with real coefficients can have either one or two
distinct real roots, or two distinct complex roots. In this case the discriminant
determines the number and nature of the roots. There are three cases:
• If the discriminant is positive, then there are two distinct roots, both
of which are real numbers:
For quadratic equations with integer coefficients, if the discriminant
is a perfect square, then the roots are rational numbers—in other
cases they may be quadratic irrationals.
• If the discriminant is zero, then there is exactly one distinct real root,
sometimes called a double root:
• If the discriminant is negative, then there are no real roots.Rather,
there are two distinct (non-real) complex roots,which are complex
conjugates of each other: where i is the
imaginary unit.
Thus the roots are distinct if and only if the discriminant is non-zero, and
the roots are real if and only if the discriminant is non-negative.
Monic Form
Dividing the quadratic equation by the quadratic coefficient a gives the
simplified monic form of
x2 + px +q =0,
where p = b/a and q = c/a. This in turn simplifies the root and discriminant
equations somewhat to
 Examples of Use
Geometry

Figure: For the quadratic function:

f (x) = x2 – x – 2 = (x + 1)(x – 2) of a real variable x, the x-coordinates of

the points where the graph intersects the x-axis, x = –1 and x = 2, are the
solutions of the quadratic equation: x2 – x – 2 = 0.
The solutions of the quadratic equation
ax2 + bx + c = 0,
are also the roots of the quadratic function:
f(x) = ax2 + bx + c,
since they are the values of x for which
f (x) = 0.
If a, b, and c are real numbers and the domain of f is the set of real
numbers, then the roots of f are exactly the x-coordinates of the points where
the graph touches the x-axis. It follows from the above that, if the
discriminant is positive, the graph touches the x-axis at two points, if zero,
the graph touches at one point, and if negative, the graph does not touch the
x-axis.

Derivations of the Quadratic Formula

By Completing the Square
 The quadratic formula can be derived by the method of completing the
square, so as to make use of the algebraic identity:
x2 + 2xh + h2 = (x+ h)2.
Dividing the quadratic equation
ax2 + bx + c = 0
by a (which is allowed because a is non-zero), gives:

The quadratic equation is now in a form to which the method of

completing the square can be applied. To “complete the square” is to add a
constant to both sides of the equation such that the left hand side becomes a
complete square:

which produces

The right side can be written as a single fraction, with common

denominator 4a2. This gives

Taking the square root of both sides yields

Other Methods of Root Calculation

Alternative Quadratic Formula
 In some situations it is preferable to express the roots in an alternative
form.

This alternative requires c to be nonzero; for, if c is zero, the formula

correctly gives zero as one root, but fails to give any second, non-zero root.
Instead, one of the two choices for –” produces the indeterminate form 0/0,
which is undefined. However, the alternative form works when a is zero
(giving the unique solution as one root and division by zero again for the
other), which the normal form does not (instead producing division by zero
both times).
The roots are the same regardless of which expression we use; the
alternative form is merely an algebraic variation of the common form:

The alternative formula can reduce loss of precision in the numerical

evaluation of the roots, which may be a problem if one of the roots is much
smaller than the other in absolute magnitude. In this case, b is very close to
and the subtraction in the numerator causes loss of significance. A mixed
approach avoids both all cancellation problems (only numbers of the same
sign are added), and the problem of c being zero:

Here sgn denotes the sign function.

Floating Point Implementation
A careful floating point computer implementation differs a little from
both forms to produce a robust result. Assuming the discriminant, b2 – 4ac, is
positive and b is nonzero, the code will be something like the following:

Here sgn(b) is the sign function, where sgn(b) is 1 if b is positive and -1

if b is negative; its use ensures that the quantities added are of the same sign,
avoiding catastrophic cancellation. The computation of x2 uses the fact that
the product of the roots is c/ a. Note that while the above formulation avoids
catastrophic cancellation between b and there remains a form of
cancellation between the terms b 2 and -4ac of the discriminant, which can
still lead to loss of up to half of correct significant figures. The discriminant b
2-4ac needs to be computed in arithmetic of twice the precision of the result
to avoid this (e.g. quad precision if the final result is to be accurate to full
double precision).
Generalization of Quadratic Equation
The formula and its derivation remain correct if the coefficients a, b and
c are complex numbers, or more generally members of any field whose
characteristic is not 2. (In a field of characteristic 2, the element 2a is zero
and it is impossible to divide by it.)
The symbol

in the formula should be understood as “either of the two elements whose

square is b2 - 4ac, if such elements exist”. In some fields, some elements
have no square roots and some have two; only zero has just one square root,
except in fields of characteristic 2. Note that even if a field does not contain a
square root of some number, there is always a quadratic extension field which
does, so the quadratic formula will always make sense as a formula in that
extension field.
Characteristic 2
In a field of characteristic 2, the quadratic formula, which relies on 2
being a unit, does not hold. Consider the monic quadratic polynomial
 x2 + bx +c
over a field of characteristic 2. If b = 0, then the solution reduces to extracting
a square root, so the solution is

and note that there is only one root since

In the case that b ‘Š 0, there are two distinct roots, but if the polynomial
is irreducible, they cannot be expressed in terms of square roots of numbers
in the coefficient field. Instead, define the 2-root R(c) of c to be a root of the
polynomial x2 + x + c, an element of the splitting field of that polynomial.
One verifies that R(c) + 1 is also a root. In terms of the 2-root operation, the
two roots of the (non-monic) quadratic ax2 + bx + c are

and

For example, let a denote a multiplicative generator of the group of units

of F4, the Galois field of order four (thus a and a + 1 are roots of x2 + x + 1
over F4). Because (a + 1)2 = a, a + 1 is the unique solution of the quadratic
equation x2 + a = 0. On the other hand, the polynomial x2 + ax + 1 is
irreducible over F4, but it splits over F16, where it has the two roots ab and ab
+ a, where b is a root of x2 + x + a in F16.

Trigonometric Functions
In mathematics, the trigonometric functions (also called circular
functions) are functions of an angle. They are used to relate the angles of a
triangle to the lengths of the sides of a triangle. Trigonometric functions are
important in the study of triangles and modelling periodic phenomena, among
many other applications.
 The most familiar trigonometric functions are the sine, cosine, and
tangent. In the context of the standard unit circle with radius 1, where a
triangle is formed by a ray originating at the origin and making some angle
with the x-axis, the sine of the angle gives the length of the y-component
(rise) of the triangle, the cosine gives the length of the x-component (run),
and the tangent function gives the slope (y-component divided by the x-
component). More precise definitions are detailed below. Trigonometric
functions are commonly defined as ratios of two sides of a right triangle
containing the angle, and can equivalently be defined as the lengths of
various line segments from a unit circle. More modern definitions express
them as infinite series or as solutions of certain differential equations,
allowing their extension to arbitrary positive and negative values and even to
complex numbers.
Trigonometric functions have a wide range of uses including computing
unknown lengths and angles in triangles (often right triangles). In this use,
trigonometric functions are used, for instance, in navigation, engineering, and
physics. A common use in elementary physics is resolving a vector into
Cartesian coordinates. The sine and cosine functions are also commonly used
to model periodic function phenomena such as sound and light waves, the
position and velocity of harmonic oscillators, sunlight intensity and day
length, and average temperature variations through the year. In modern
usage, there are six basic trigonometric functions, tabulated here with
equations that relate them to one another. Especially with the last four, these
relations are often taken as the definitions of those functions, but one can
define them equally well geometrically, or by other means, and then derive
these relations.
Right-angled Triangle Definitions
 Figure: (Top): Trigonometric function sinè for selected angles θ, π -θ, π + θ and 2π-θ in the four
quadrants. (Bottom) Graph of sine function versus angle. Angles from the top panel are identified.
The notion that there should be some standard correspondence between
the lengths of the sides of a triangle and the angles of the triangle comes as
soon as one recognizes that similar triangles maintain the same ratios
between their sides.
That is, for any similar triangle the ratio of the hypotenuse (for example)
and another of the sides remains the same. If the hypotenuse is twice as long,
so are the sides. It is these ratios that the trigonometric functions express.
To define the trigonometric functions for the angle A, start with any right
triangle that contains the angle A. The three sides of the triangle are named as
follows:
• The hypotenuse is the side opposite the right angle, in this case side
h. The hypotenuse is always the longest side of a right-angled
triangle.
• The opposite side is the side opposite to the angle we are interested in
 (angle A), in this case side a.
• The adjacent side is the side having both the angles of interest (angle
A and right-angle C), in this case side b.
In ordinary Euclidean geometry, according to the triangle postulate, the
inside angles of every triangle total 180° (n radians). Therefore, in a right-
angled triangle, the two non-right angles total 90° (n/2 radians), so each of
these angles must be in the range of (0°,90°) as expressed in interval notation.
The following definitions apply to angles in this 0° - 90° range. They can
be extended to the full set of real arguments by using the unit circle, or by
requiring certain symmetries and that they be periodic functions.
For example, the figure shows sin θ for angles θ, n- θ, n+ θ, and 2π
depicted on the unit circle (top) and as a graph (bottom).
The value of the sine repeats itself apart from sign in all four quadrants,
and if the range of 0is extended to additional rotations, this behaviour repeats
periodically with a period 2n.
The trigonometric functions are summarized in the following table and
described in more detail below.
The angle θ is the angle between the hypotenuse and the adjacent line -
the angle at A in the accompanying diagram.

The sine, tangent, and secant functions of an angle constructed

geometrically in terms of a unit circle. The number 0is the length of the
curve; thus angles are being measured in radians. The secant and tangent
functions rely on a fixed vertical line and the sine function on a moving
vertical line. (“Fixed” in this context means not moving as Changes;
“moving” means depending on θ.) Thus, as 0goes from 0 up to a right angle,
sin 0goes from 0 to 1, tan θ goes from 0 to “, and sec θ goes from 1 to “.

The cosine, cotangent, and cosecant functions of an angle θ constructed

geometrically in terms of a unit circle. The functions whose names have the
prefix co- use horizontal lines where the others use vertical lines.
Sine, Cosine and Tangent
The sine of an angle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to the
length of the hypotenuse. (The word comes from the Latin sinus for gulf or
bay, since, given a unit circle, it is the side of the triangle on which the angle
opens). In our case

Note that this ratio does not depend on size of the particular right triangle
chosen, as long as it contains the angle A, since all such triangles are similar.
The cosine of an angle is the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to the
length of the hypotenuse: so called because it is the sine of the
complementary or co-angle. In our case

The tangent of an angle is the ratio of the length of the opposite side to
the length of the adjacent side: so called because it can be represented as a
line segment tangent to the circle, that is the line that touches the circle, from
Latin linea tangens or touching line (cf. tangere, to touch). In our case
 The acronyms “SOHCAHTOA” (“Soak-a-toe”, “Sock-a-toa”, “Soak-a-
toa”) and “OHSAHCOAT” are commonly used mnemonics for these ratios.
Reciprocal Functions
The remaining three functions are best defined using the above three
functions.
The cosecant csc(A), or cosec(A), is the reciprocal of sin(A), i.e. the ratio
of the length of the hypotenuse to the length of the opposite side:

The secant sec(A) is the reciprocal of cos(A), i.e. the ratio of the length of
the hypotenuse to the length of the adjacent side:

It is so called because it represents the line that cuts the circle (from
Latin: secare, to cut).
The cotangent cot(A) is the reciprocal of tan(A), i.e. the ratio of the
length of the adjacent side to the length of the opposite side:

Slope Definitions
Equivalent to the right-triangle definitions, the trigonometric functions
can also be defined in terms of the rise, run, and slope of a line segment
relative to horizontal. The slope is commonly taught as “rise over run” or D
run. The three main trigonometric functions are commonly taught in the order
sine, cosine, tangent. With a line segment length of 1 (as in a unit circle), the
following mnemonic devices show the correspondence of definitions:
1. “Sine is first, rise is first” meaning that Sine takes the angle of the
line segment and tells its vertical rise when the length of the line is 1.
2. “Cosine is second, run is second” meaning that Cosine takes the
angle of the line segment and tells its horizontal run when the length
of the line is 1.
3. “Tangent combines the rise and run” meaning that Tangent takes the
 angle of the line segment and tells its slope; or alternatively, tells the
vertical rise when the line segment’s horizontal run is 1.
This shows the main use of tangent and arctangent: converting between
the two ways of telling the slant of a line, i.e., angles and slopes. (Note that
the arctangent or “inverse tangent” is not to be confused with the cotangent,
which is cosine divided by sine.) While the length of the line segment makes
no difference for the slope (the slope does not depend on the length of the
slanted line), it does affect rise and run. To adjust and find the actual rise and
run when the line does not have a length of 1, just multiply the sine and
cosine by the line length. For instance, if the line segment has length 5, the
run at an angle of 7° is 5 cos(7°)
Series Definitions
Trigonometric functions are analytic functions. Using only geometry and
properties of limits, it can be shown that the derivative of sine is cosine and
the derivative of cosine is the negative of sine. (Here, and generally in
calculus, all angles are measured in radians.) One can then use the theory of
Taylor series to show that the following identities hold for all real numbers x:

These identities are sometimes taken as the definitions of the sine and
cosine function. They are often used as the starting point in a rigorous
treatment of trigonometric functions and their applications (e.g., in Fourier
series), since the theory of infinite series can be developed, independent of
any geometric considerations, from the foundations of the real number
system.
The differentiability and continuity of these functions are then
established from the series definitions alone.
Combining these two series gives Euler’s formula: cos x + i sin x = eix.
Other series can be found. For the following trigonometric functions:
Un is the nth up/down number,
 Bn is the nth Bernoulli number, and
En (below) is the nth Euler number.
Tangent

When this series for the tangent function is expressed in a form in which
the denominators are the corresponding factorials, the numerators, called the
“tangent numbers”, have a combinatorial interpretation: they enumerate
alternating permutations of finite sets of odd cardinality.
Cosecant

When this series for the secant function is expressed in a form in which
the denominators are the corresponding factorials, the numerators, called the
“secant numbers”, have a combinatorial interpretation: they enumerate
alternating permutations of finite sets of even cardinality.
Cotangent

From a theorem in complex analysis, there is a unique analytic

continuation of this real function to the domain of complex numbers. They
have the same Taylor series, and so the trigonometric functions are defined
on the complex numbers using the Taylor series above.
 There is a series representation as partial fraction expansion where just
translated reciprocal functions are summed up, such that the poles of the
cotangent function and the reciprocal functions match:

This identity can be proven with the Herglotz trick. By combining the –
n-th with the n-th term, it can be expressed as an absolutely convergent
series:
Computation
The computation of trigonometric functions is a complicated subject,
which can today be avoided by most people because of the widespread
availability of computers and scientific calculators that provide built-in
trigonometric functions for any angle. This section, however, describes
details of their computation in three important contexts: the historical use of
trigonometric tables, the modern techniques used by computers, and a few
“important” angles where simple exact values are easily found.
The first step in computing any trigonometric function is range reduction
—reducing the given angle to a “reduced angle” inside a small range of
angles, say 0 to π/2, using the periodicity and symmetries of the
trigonometric functions. Prior to computers, people typically evaluated
trigonometric functions by interpolating from a detailed table of their values,
calculated to many significant figures. Such tables have been available for as
long as trigonometric functions have been described, and were typically
generated by repeated application of the half-angle and angle-addition
identities starting from a known value (such as sin(π/2) = 1).
Modern computers use a variety of techniques. One common method,
especially on higher-end processors with floating point units, is to combine a
polynomial or rational approximation (such as Chebyshev approximation,
best uniform approximation, and Padé approximation, and typically for
higher or variable precisions, Taylor and Laurent series) with range reduction
and a table lookup—they first look up the closest angle in a small table, and
then use the polynomial to compute the correction. Devices that lack
hardware multipliers often use an algorithm called CORDIC (as well as
related techniques), which uses only addition, subtraction, bitshift, and table
lookup. These methods are commonly implemented in hardware floating-
point units for performance reasons.
For very high precision calculations, when series expansion convergence
becomes too slow, trigonometric functions can be approximated by the
arithmetic-geometric mean, which itself approximates the trigonometric
function by the (complex) elliptic integral.
Finally, for some simple angles, the values can be easily computed by
hand using the Pythagorean theorem, as in the following examples. For
example, the sine, cosine and tangent of any integer multiple of π/ 60 radians
(3°) can be found exactly by hand. Consider a right triangle where the two
other angles are equal, and therefore are both π/4 radians (45°). Then the
length of side b and the length of side a are equal; we can choose a=b=1 .
The values of sine, cosine and tangent of an angle of π/4 radians (45°) can
then be found using the Pythagorean theorem:

To determine the trigonometric functions for angles of π/3 radians (60

degrees) and π/6 radians (30 degrees), we start with an equilateral triangle of
side length 1. All its angles are π/3 radians (60 degrees). By dividing it into
two, we obtain a right triangle with π/6 radians (30 degrees) and π/3 radians
(60 degrees) angles. For this triangle, the shortest side = 1/2, the next largest
side =(-3)/2 and the hypotenuse = 1. This yields:

Properties and Applications

The trigonometric functions, as the name suggests, are of crucial
importance in trigonometry, mainly because of the following two results.
Law of Sines
The law of sines states that for an arbitrary triangle with sides a, b, and c
and angles opposite those sides A, B and C:

where R is the triangle’s circumradius.

It can be proven by dividing the triangle into two right ones and using
the above definition of sine. The law of sines is useful for computing the
lengths of the unknown sides in a triangle if two angles and one side are
known. This is a common situation occurring in triangulation, a technique to
determine unknown distances by measuring two angles and an accessible
enclosed distance.
Law of Cosines
The law of cosines (also known as the cosine formula or cosine rule) is
an extension of the Pythagorean theorem:

In this formula the angle at C is opposite to the side c. This theorem can
be proven by dividing the triangle into two right ones and using the
Pythagorean theorem.
The law of cosines can be used to determine a side of a triangle if two
sides and the angle between them are known. It can also be used to find the
cosines of an angle (and consequently the angles themselves) if the lengths of
all the sides are known.
Law of Tangents
The following all form the law of tangents
 The explanation of the formulae in words would be cumbersome, but the
patterns of sums and differences; for the lengths and corresponding opposite
angles, are apparent in the theorem.
Law of Cotangents
If

(the radius of the inscribed circle for the triangle) and

(the semi-perimetre for the triangle), then the following all form the law of
cotangents

In words the theorem is: the cotangent of a half-angle equals the ratio of
the semi-perimetre minus the opposite side to the said angle, to the inradius
for the triangle.
History
While the early study of trigonometry can be traced to antiquity, the
trigonometric functions as they are in use today were developed in the
medieval period. The chord function was discovered by Hipparchus of
Nicaea (180–125 BC) and Ptolemy of Roman Egypt (90–165 AD). The
functions sine and cosine can be traced to the jyâ and koti-jyâ functions used
in Gupta period Indian astronomy (Aryabhatiya, Surya Siddhanta), via
translation from Sanskrit to Arabic and then from Arabic to Latin.
All six trigonometric functions in current use were known in Islamic
mathematics by the 9th century, as was the law of sines, used in solving
triangles. al-Khwârizmî produced tables of sines, cosines and tangents. They
were studied by authors including Omar Khayyαm, Bhâskara II, Nasir al-Din
al-Tusi, Jamshîd al-Kâshî (14th century), Ulugh Beg (14th century),
Regiomontanus (1464), Rheticus, and Rheticus’ student Valentinus Otho
Madhava of Sangamagrama (c. 1400) made early strides in the analysis
of trigonometric functions in terms of infinite series. The first published use
of the abbreviations ‘sin’, ‘cos’, and ‘tan’ is by the 16th century French
mathematician Albert Girard. In a paper published in 1682, Leibniz proved
that sin x is not an algebraic function of x. Leonhard Euler’s Introductio in
analysin infinitorum (1748) was mostly responsible for establishing the
analytic treatment of trigonometric functions in Europe, also defining them as
infinite series and presenting “Euler’s formula”, as well as the near-modern
abbreviations sin., cos., tang., cot., sec., and cosec. A few functions were
common historically, but are now seldom used, such as the chord (crd(^ = 2
sin(02)), the versine (versing = 1 - cos(^ = 2 sin2(02)) (which appeared in the
earliest tables ), the haversine (haversin(^ = versing/ 2 = sin2(02)), the
exsecant (exsec(^ = sec(^ - 1) and the excosecant (excsc(^ = exsec(W2 - θ) =
csc(^ -1). Many more relations between these functions are listed in the
article about trigonometric identities.
Etymologically the word sine derives from the Sanskrit word for half the
chord, jya-ardha, abbreviated to jiva. This was transliterated in Arabic as
jiba, written jb, vowels not being written in Arabic. Next, this transliteration
was mis-translated in the 12th century into Latin as sinus, under the mistaken
impression that jb stood for the word jaib, which means “bosom” or “bay” or
“fold” in Arabic, as does sinus in Latin. Finally, English usage converted the
Latin word sinus to sine. The word tangent comes from Latin tangens
meaning “touching”, since the line touches the circle of unit radius, whereas
secant stems from Latin secans - “cutting” -since the line cuts the circle.
 Conic Section
In mathematics, a conic section (or just conic) is a curve obtained as the
intersection of a cone (more precisely, a right circular conical surface) with a
plane. In analytic geometry a conic may be defined as a plane algebraic curve
of degree 2. There are a number of other geometric definitions possible One
of the most useful, in that it involves only the plane, is that a conic consists of
those points whose distances to some point, called a focus, and some line,
called a directrix, are in a fixed ratio, called the eccentricity. Traditionally,
the three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the
ellipse. The circle is a special case of the ellipse, and is of sufficient interest
in its own right that it is sometimes called the fourth type of conic section.
The type of a conic corresponds to its eccentricity, those with eccentricity
less than 1 being ellipses, those with eccentricity equal to 1 being parabolas,
and those with eccentricity greater than 1 being hyperbolas. In the focus-
directrix definition of a conic the circle is a limiting case with eccentricity 0.
In modern geometry certain degenerate cases, such as the union of two lines,
are included as conics as well.
The conic sections were named and studied at least since 200 BC, when
Apollonius of Perga undertook a systematic study of their properties.
History
Menaechmus
It is believed that the first definition of a conic section is due to
Menaechmus (died 320 BC). This work does not survive, however, and is
only known through secondary accounts. The definition used at that time
differs from the one commonly used today in that it requires the plane cutting
the cone to be perpendicular to one of the lines that generate the cone as a
surface of revolution (a generatrix).
Thus the shape of the conic is determined by the angle formed at the
vertex of the cone (between two opposite generatrices): If the angle is acute
then the conic is an ellipse; if the angle is right then the conic is a parabola;
and if the angle is obtuse then the conic is a hyperbola. Note that the circle
cannot be defined this way and was not considered a conic at this time.
Euclid ( fl. 300 BC ) is said to have written four books on conics but
these were lost as well. Archimedes (died c. 212 BC) is known to have
studied conics, having determined the area bounded by a parabola and an
ellipse. The only part of this work to survive is a book on the solids of
revolution of conics.
Apollonius of Perga
The greatest progress in the study of conics by the ancient Greeks is due
to Apollonius of Perga (died c.190 BC) ), whose eight volume Conic Sections
summarized the existing knowledge at the time and greatly extended it.
Apollonius’s major innovation was to characterize a conic using properties
within the plane and intrinsic to the curve; this greatly simplified analysis.
With this tool, it was now possible to show that any plane cutting the
cone, regardless of its angle, will produce a conic according to the earlier
definition, leading to the definition commonly used today.
Pappus of Alexandria (died c. 350 CE) is credited with discovering
importance of the concept of a focus of a conic, and the discovery of the
related concept of a directrix.
Al-Kuhi
An instrument for drawing conic sections was first described in 1000 CE
by the Islamic mathematician Al-Kuhi.
Omar Khayyám
Apollonius’s work was translated into Arabic (the technical language of
the time) and much of his work only survives through the Arabic version.
Persians found applications to the theory; the most notable of these was the
Persian mathematician and poet Omar Khayyám who used conic sections to
solve algebraic equations.
Europe
Johannes Kepler extended the theory of conics through the “principle of
continuity”, a precursor to the concept of limits. Girard Desargues and Blaise
Pascal developed a theory of conics using an early form of projective
geometry and this helped to provide impetus for the study of this new field.
In particular, Pascal discovered a theorem known as the hexagrammum
mysticum from which many other properties of conics can be deduced.
Meanwhile, René Descartes applied his newly discovered Analytic geometry
to the study of conics. This had the effect of reducing the geometrical
problems of conics to problems in algebra.
Properties
Just as two (distinct) points determine a line, five points determine a
conic. Formally, given any five points in the plane in general linear position,
meaning no three collinear, there is a unique conic passing through them,
which will be non-degenerate; this is true over both the affine plane and
projective plane. Indeed, given any five points there is a conic passing
through them, but if three of the points are collinear the conic will be
degenerate (reducible, because it contains a line), and may not be unique.
Irreducible conic sections are always “smooth”. This is important for many
applications, such as aerodynamics, where a smooth surface is required to
ensure laminar flow and to prevent turbulence.
Intersection at Infinity
An algebro-geometrically intrinsic form of this classification is by the
intersection of the conic with the line at infinity, which gives further insight
into their geometry:
• ellipses intersect the line at infinity in 0 points – rather, in 0 real
points, but in 2 complex points, which are conjugate;
• parabolas intersect the line at infinity in 1 double point,
corresponding to the axis – they are tangent to the line at infinity, and
close at infinity, as distended ellipses;
• hyperbolas intersect the line at infinity in 2 points, corresponding to
the asymptotes – hyperbolas pass through infinity, with a twist.
Going to infinity along one branch passes through the point at infinity
corresponding to the asymptote, then re-emerges on the other branch
at the other side but with the inside of the hyperbola (the direction of
curvature) on the other side – left vs. right (corresponding to the non-
orientability of the real projective plane) – and then passing through
the other point at infinity returns to the first branch. Hyperbolas can
thus be seen as ellipses that have been pulled through infinity and re-
emerged on the other side, flipped.
Degenerate Cases
There are five degenerate cases: three in which the plane passes through
apex of the cone, and three that arise when the cone itself degenerates to a
cylinder (a doubled line can occur in both cases). When the plane passes
through the apex, the resulting conic is always degenerate, and is either: a
point (when the angle between the plane and the axis of the cone is larger
than tangential); a straight line (when the plane is tangential to the surface of
the cone); or a pair of intersecting lines (when the angle is smaller than the
tangential). These correspond respectively to degeneration of an ellipse,
parabola, and a hyperbola, which are characterized in the same way by angle.
The straight line is more precisely a double line (a line with multiplicity 2)
because the plane is tangent to the cone, and thus the intersection should be
counted twice.
Where the cone is a cylinder, i.e. with the vertex at infinity, cylindric
sections are obtained; this corresponds to the apex being at infinity.
Cylindrical sections are ellipses (or circles), unless the plane is vertical
(which corresponds to passing through the apex at infinity), in which case
three degenerate cases occur: two parallel lines, known as a ribbon
(corresponding to an ellipse with one axis infinite and the other axis real and
non-zero, the distance between the lines), a double line (an ellipse with one
infinite axis and one axis zero), and no intersection (an ellipse with one
infinite axis and the other axis imaginary).
Cartesian Coordinates
In the Cartesian coordinate system, the graph of a quadratic equation in
two variables is always a conic section – though it may be degenerate, and all
conic sections arise in this way. The equation will be of the form
Ax2 + Bxy +Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0 with A,B,C not all zero.
As scaling all six constants yields the same locus of zeros, one can
consider conics as points in the five-dimensional projective space P5.

Matrix Representation of Conic Sections

In mathematics, the matrix representation of conic sections is one way of
studying a conic section, its axis, vertices, foci, tangents, and the relative
position of a given point. We can also study conic sections whose axes aren’t
parallel to our coordinate system.
Conic sections have the form of a second-degree polynomial:
 That can be written as:
xT AQx =0
Where x is the homogeneous coordinate vector:

Classification
Regular and degenerated conic sections can be distinguished based on
the determinant of AQ.
If det AQ = 0 , the conic is degenerate.
If Q is not degenerate, we can see what type of conic section it is by
computing the minor det A33 (that is, the determinant of the submatrix
resulting from removing the last row and the last column of AQ):

• If and only if det A33 < 0, it is a hyperbola.

• If and only if detA33=0, it is a parabola.
• If and only if detA33>0, it is an ellipse.
In the case of an ellipse, we can make a further distinction between an
ellipse and a circle by comparing the last two diagonal elements
corresponding to x2 and y2.
• If a = C and B = 0, it is a circle. Moreover, in the case ofa non-
degenerate ellipse (with detA33 >0and detAQ ≠0),we have a real
ellipse if C·detAQ < 0 but an imaginaryellipse if C·detAQ>0. An
example of the latter isx2 +y 2 +10 =0, which has no real-valued
solutions.
 If the conic section is degenerate (det AQ = 0 ), det A33 still allows us
to distinguish its form:
• If and only if det A33 < 0, it is two intersecting lines.
• If and only if det A33 = 0, it is two parallel straight lines. These lines
are distinct and real if E2 - 4CF > 0 , coincident if E2 - 4CF = 0 , and
distinct and imaginary if E2 - 4CF < 0 .
• If and only if det A33 > 0, it is a single point.

Centre
In the centre of the conic, the gradient of the quadratic form Q vanishes,
so:
We can calculate the centre by taking the first two rows of the associated
matrix AQ , multiplying each by (x, y, 1)T, setting both inner products equal to
0, and solving the system.

Note that in the case of a parabola, defined by (4AC-B2) = 0, there is no

centre since the above denominators become zero.
Axes
The major and minor axes are two lines determined by the centre of the
conic as a point and eigenvectors of the associated matrix as vectors of
direction.

Because a 2x2 matrix has 2 eigenvectors, we obtain 2 axes.

Vertices
 For a general conic we can determine its vertices by calculating the
intersection of the conic and its axes — in other words, by solving the
system:

Tangents
Through a given point, P, there are generally two lines tangent to a
conic. Expressing P as a column vector, p, the two points of tangency are the
intersections of the conic with the line whose equation is

When P is on the conic, the line is the tangent there. When P is inside an
ellipse, the line is the set of all points whose own associated line passes
through P. This line is called the polar of the pole P with respect to the conic.
Just as P uniquely determines its polar line (with respect to a given
conic), so each line determines a unique P. This is thus an expression of
geometric duality between points and lines in the plane. As special cases, the
centre of a conic is the pole of the line at infinity, and each asymptote of a
hyperbola is a polar (a tangent) to one of its points at infinity.
Using the theory of poles and polars, the problem of finding the four
mutual tangents of two conics reduces to finding the intersection of two
conics.
Reduced Equation
The reduced equation of a conic section is the equation of a conic section
translated and rotated so that its centre lies in the centre of the coordinate
system and its axes are parallel to the coordinate axes. This is equivalent to
saying that the coordinates are moved to satisfy these properties.
 Figure: If λ1 and λ2 are the eigenvalues of the matrix A33, the reduced equation can be written as

Dividing by we obtain a reduced canonical equation. For

example, for an ellipse:

From here we get a and b.

The transformation of coordinates is given by:

As slice of quadratic form

The equation
Ax2 + Bxy +Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0
can be rearranged by taking the affine linear part to the other side, yielding
Ax2 + Bxy +Cy2 = -(Dx+ Ey + F).
In this form, a conic section is realized exactly as the intersection of the
graph of the quadratic form z = Ax2 + Bxy +Cy2 and the plane z = -(Dx + Ey +
F). Parabolas and hyperbolas can be realized by a horizontal plane ( D = E =
0 ), while ellipses require that the plane be slanted. Degenerate conics
correspond to degenerate intersections, such as taking slices such as z = -1of
a positive-definite form.
Eccentricity in Terms of Parametres of the Quadratic
Form
When the conic section is written algebraically as
Ax2 + Bxy +Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0,
the eccentricity can be written as a function of the parametres of the quadratic
equation. If 4AC = B2 the conic is a parabola and its eccentricity equals 1 (if
it is non-degenerate). Otherwise, assuming the equation represents either a
non-degenerate hyperbola or a non-degenerate, non-imaginary ellipse, the
eccentricity is given by

where η = 1 if the determinant of the 3×3 matrix is negative and η = –1 if that

determinant is positive.
Applications
Conic sections are important in astronomy: the orbits of two massive
objects that interact according to Newton’s law of universal gravitation are
conic sections if their common centre of mass is considered to be at rest. If
they are bound together, they will both trace out ellipses; if they are moving
apart, they will both follow parabolas or hyperbolas.
In projective geometry, the conic sections in the projective plane are
equivalent to each other up to projective transformations. For certain fossils
in paleontology understanding conic sections can help understand the three-
dimensional shape of certain organisms.
Intersecting Two Conics
The solutions to a two second degree equations system in two variables
may be seen as the coordinates of the intersections of two generic conic
sections. In particular two conics may possess none, two or four possibly
coincident intersection points. The best method of locating these solutions
exploits the homogeneous matrix representation of conic sections, i.e. a 3x3
symmetric matrix which depends on six parametres.
The procedure to locate the intersection points follows these steps:
 • given the two conics C 1 and C2 consider the pencil of conics given
by their linear combination λC1 +μC2
• identify the homogeneous parametres (λ,μ) which corresponds to the
degenerate conic of the pencil. This can be done by imposing that
det( λC 1 + μC2) = 0, which turns out to be the solution to a third
degree equation.
• given the degenerate conic C0, identify the two, possibly coincident,
lines constituting it
• intersects each identified line with one of the two original conic; this
step can be done efficiently using the dual conic representation of C0
• the points of intersection will represent the solution to the initial
equation system

Plane (Geometry)
In mathematics, a plane is a flat, two-dimensional surface. A plane is the
two dimensional analogue of a point (zero-dimensions), a line (one-
dimension) and a space (three-dimensions). Planes can arise as subspaces of
some higher dimensional space, as with the walls of a room, or they may
enjoy an independent existence in their own right, as in the setting of
Euclidean geometry.
When working in two-dimensional Euclidean space, the definite article is
used, the plane, to refer to the whole space. Many fundamental tasks in
mathematics, geometry, trigonometry, graph theory and graphing are
performed in two-dimensional space, or in other words, in the plane.

Euclidean Geometry
Euclidean geometry is a mathematical system attributed to the
Alexandrian Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook
on geometry: the Elements. Euclid’s method consists in assuming a small set
of intuitively appealing axioms, and deducing many other propositions
(theorems) from these. Although many of Euclid’s results had been stated by
earlier mathematicians, Euclid was the first to show how these propositions
could fit into a comprehensive deductive and logical system. The Elements
begins with plane geometry, still taught in secondary school as the first
axiomatic system and the first examples of formal proof. It goes on to the
solid geometry of three dimensions. Much of the Elements states results of
what are now called algebra and number theory, couched in geometrical
language.
For over two thousand years, the adjective “Euclidean” was unnecessary
because no other sort of geometry had been conceived. Euclid’s axioms
seemed so intuitively obvious that any theorem proved from them was
deemed true in an absolute, often metaphysical, sense. Today, however, many
other self-consistent non-Euclidean geometries are known, the first ones
having been discovered in the early 19th century. An implication of
Einstein’s theory of general relativity is that Euclidean space is a good
approximation to the properties of physical space only where the
gravitational field is weak.
The Elements
The Elements are mainly a systematization of earlier knowledge of
geometry. Its superiority over earlier treatments was rapidly recognized, with
the result that there was little interest in preserving the earlier ones, and they
are now nearly all lost. Books I–IV and VI discuss plane geometry. Many
results about plane figures are proved, e.g., If a triangle has two equal angles,
then the sides subtended by the angles are equal. The Pythagorean theorem is
proved.
Books V and VII–X deal with number theory, with numbers treated
geometrically via their representation as line segments with various lengths.
Notions such as prime numbers and rational and irrational numbers are
introduced. The infinitude of prime numbers is proved. Books XI–XIII
concern solid geometry. A typical result is the 1:3 ratio between the volume
of a cone and a cylinder with the same height and base.

The Parallel Postulate: If two lines intersect a third in such a way that
the sum of the inner angles on one side is less than two right angles, then the
two lines inevitably must intersect each other on that side if extended far
enough.
Axioms
Euclidean geometry is an axiomatic system, in which all theorems (“true
statements”) are derived from a small number of axioms. Near the beginning
of the first book of the Elements, Euclid gives five postulates (axioms) for
plane geometry, stated in terms of constructions (as translated by Thomas
Heath):
“Let the following be postulated”:
1. “To draw a straight line from any point to any point.”
2. “To produce [extend] a finite straight line continuously in a straight
line.”
3. “To describe a circle with any centre and distance [radius].”
4. “That all right angles are equal to one another.”
5. The parallel postulate: “That, if a straight line falling on two straight
lines make the interior angles on the same side less than two right
angles, the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that
side on which are the angles less than the two right angles.”
Although Euclid’s statement of the postulates only explicitly asserts the
existence of the constructions, they are also taken to be unique.
The Elements also include the following five “common notions”:
1. Things that are equal to the same thing are also equal to one another.
2. If equals are added to equals, then the wholes are equal.
3. If equals are subtracted from equals, then the remainders are equal.
4. Things that coincide with one another equal one another.
5. The whole is greater than the part.
Parallel Postulate
To the ancients, the parallel postulate seemed less obvious than the
others. Euclid himself seems to have considered it as being qualitatively
different from the others, as evidenced by the organization of the Elements:
the first 28 propositions he presents are those that can be proved without it.
Many alternative axioms can be formulated that have the same logical
consequences as the parallel postulate. For example Playfair’s axiom states:
In a plane, through a point not on a given straight line, at most one line can be
drawn that never meets the given line.
Methods of Proof
Euclidean geometry is constructive. Postulates 1, 2, 3, and 5 assert the
existence and uniqueness of certain geometric figures, and these assertions
are of a constructive nature: that is, we are not only told that certain things
exist, but are also given methods for creating them with no more than a
compass and an unmarked straightedge. In this sense, Euclidean geometry is
more concrete than many modern axiomatic systems such as set theory,
which often assert the existence of objects without saying how to construct
them, or even assert the existence of objects that cannot be constructed within
the theory. Strictly speaking, the lines on paper are models of the objects
defined within the formal system, rather than instances of those objects.
For example a Euclidean straight line has no width, but any real drawn
line will. Though nearly all modern mathematicians consider nonconstructive
methods just as sound as constructive ones, Euclid’s constructive proofs often
supplanted fallacious nonconstructive ones—e.g., some of the Pythagoreans’
proofs that involved irrational numbers, which usually required a statement
such as “Find the greatest common measure of ...”
Euclid often used proof by contradiction. Euclidean geometry also
allows the method of superposition, in which a figure is transferred to another
point in space. For example, proposition I.4, side-angle-side congruence of
triangles, is proved by moving one of the two triangles so that one of its sides
coincides with the other triangle’s equal side, and then proving that the other
sides coincide as well. Some modern treatments add a sixth postulate, the
rigidity of the triangle, which can be used as an alternative to superposition.
System of Measurement and Arithmetic
Euclidean geometry has two fundamental types of measurements: angle
and distance. The angle scale is absolute, and Euclid uses the right angle as
his basic unit, so that, e.g., a 45-degree angle would be referred to as half of a
right angle. The distance scale is relative; one arbitrarily picks a line segment
with a certain length as the unit, and other distances are expressed in relation
to it.
 A line in Euclidean geometry is a model of the real number line. A line
segment is a part of a line that is bounded by two end points, and contains
every point on the line between its end points. Addition is represented by a
construction in which one line segment is copied onto the end of another line
segment to extend its length, and similarly for subtraction.
Measurements of area and volume are derived from distances. For
example, a rectangle with a width of 3 and a length of 4 has an area that
represents the product, 12. Because this geometrical interpretation of
multiplication was limited to three dimensions, there was no direct way of
interpreting the product of four or more numbers, and Euclid avoided such
products, although they are implied, e.g., in the proof of book IX, proposition
20.
Euclid refers to a pair of lines, or a pair of planar or solid figures, as
“equal” (4σïò) if their lengths, areas, or volumes are equal, and similarly for
angles. The stronger term “congruent” refers to the idea that an entire figure
is the same size and shape as another figure. Alternatively, two figures are
congruent if one can be moved on top of the other so that it matches up with
it exactly. (Flipping it over is allowed.) Thus, for example, a 2x6 rectangle
and a 3x4 rectangle are equal but not congruent, and the letter R is congruent
to its mirror image. Figures that would be congruent except for their differing
sizes are referred to as similar.
 8: Notation and Terminology

Naming of Points and Figures

Points are customarily named using capital letters of the alphabet. Other
figures, such as lines, triangles, or circles, are named by listing a sufficient
number of points to pick them out unambiguously from the relevant figure,
eg., triangle ABC would typically be a triangle with vertices at points A, B,
and C.
Complementary and Supplementary Angles
Angles whose sum is a right angle are called complementary.
Complementary angles are formed when one or more rays share the same
vertex and are pointed in a direction that is in between the two original rays
that form the right angle. The number of rays in between the two original rays
are infinite. Those whose sum is a straight angle are supplementary.
Supplementary angles are formed when one or more rays share the same
vertex and are pointed in a direction that in between the two original rays that
form the straight angle (180 degrees). The number of rays in between the two
original rays are infinite like those possible in the complementary angle.
Modern Versions of Euclid’s Notation
In modern terminology, angles would normally be measured in degrees
or radians.
Modern school textbooks often define separate figures called lines
(infinite), rays (semi-infinite), and line segments (of finite length). Euclid,
rather than discussing a ray as an object that extends to infinity in one
direction, would normally use locutions such as “if the line is extended to a
sufficient length,” although he occasionally referred to “infinite lines.” A
“line” in Euclid could be either straight or curved, and he used the more
specific term “straight line” when necessary.
Bridge of Asses
The Bridge of Asses (Pons Asinorum) states that in isosceles triangles
the angles at the base equal one another, and, if the equal straight lines are
produced further, then the angles under the base equal one another. Its name
may be attributed to its frequent role as the first real test in the Elements of
the intelligence of the reader and as a bridge to the harder propositions that
followed. It might also be so named because of the geometrical figure’s
resemblance to a steep bridge that only a sure-footed donkey could cross.
Congruence of Triangles
Triangles are congruent if they have all three sides equal (SSS), two
sides and the angle between them equal (SAS), or two angles and a side equal
(ASA) (Book I, propositions 4, 8, and 26). (Triangles with three equal angles
are generally similar, but not necessarily congruent. Also, triangles with two
equal sides and an adjacent angle are not necessarily equal.)
Sum of the Angles of a Triangle Acute, Obtuse and Right
Angle Limits
The sum of the angles of a triangle is equal to a straight angle (180
degrees). This causes an equilateral triangle to have 3 interior angles of 60
degrees. Also, it causes every triangle to have at least 2 acute angles and up
to 1 obtuse or right angle.
Pythagorean Theorem
The celebrated Pythagorean theorem (book I, proposition 47) states that
in any right triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the
side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares
whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle).
Thales’ Theorem
Thales’ theorem, named after Thales of Miletus states that if A, B, and C
are points on a circle where the line AC is a diametre of the circle, then the
angle ABC is a right angle. Cantor supposed that Thales proved his theorem
by means of Euclid book I, prop 32 after the manner of Euclid book III, prop
31. Tradition has it that Thales sacrificed an ox to celebrate this theorem.
 As a Description of the Structure of Space
Euclid believed that his axioms were self-evident statements about
physical reality. Euclid’s proofs depend upon assumptions perhaps not
obvious in Euclid’s fundamental axioms, in particular that certain movements
of figures do not change their geometrical properties such as the lengths of
sides and interior angles, the so-called Euclidean motions, which include
translations and rotations of figures.
Taken as a physical description of space, postulate 2 (extending a line)
asserts that space does not have holes or boundaries (in other words, space is
homogeneous and unbounded); postulate 4 (equality of right angles) says that
space is isotropic and figures may be moved to any location while
maintaining congruence; and postulate 5 (the parallel postulate) that space is
flat (has no intrinsic curvature).
As discussed in more detail below, Einstein’s theory of relativity
significantly modifies this view.
The ambiguous character of the axioms as originally formulated by
Euclid makes it possible for different commentators to disagree about some
of their other implications for the structure of space, such as whether or not it
is infinite and what its topology is.
Modern, more rigorous reformulations of the system typically aim for a
cleaner separation of these issues.
Interpreting Euclid’s axioms in the spirit of this more modern approach,
axioms 1-4 are consistent with either infinite or finite space (as in elliptic
geometry), and all five axioms are consistent with a variety of topologies
(e.g., a plane, a cylinder, or a torus for two-dimensional Euclidean geometry).

Later Work
Archimedes and Apollonius
Archimedes (ca. 287 BCE – ca. 212 BCE), a colourful figure about
whom many historical anecdotes are recorded, is remembered along with
Euclid as one of the greatest of ancient mathematicians. Although the
foundations of his work were put in place by Euclid, his work, unlike
Euclid’s, is believed to have been entirely original. He proved equations for
the volumes and areas of various figures in two and three dimensions, and
enunciated the Archimedean property of finite numbers.
Apollonius of Perga (ca. 262 BCE–ca. 190 BCE) is mainly known for his
investigation of conic sections.
17th Century: Descartes
René Descartes (1596–1650) developed analytic geometry, an alternative
method for formalizing geometry. In this approach, a point is represented by
its Cartesian (x, y) coordinates, a line is represented by its equation, and so
on.
In Euclid’s original approach, the Pythagorean theorem follows from
Euclid’s axioms. In the Cartesian approach, the axioms are the axioms of
algebra, and the equation expressing the Pythagorean theorem is then a
definition of one of the terms in Euclid’s axioms, which are now considered
theorems. The equation

defining the distance between two points P = (p, q) and Q = (r, s) i s t h e

n k n o w n a s t h e Euclidean metric, and other metrics define non-Euclidean
geometries.
In terms of analytic geometry, the restriction of classical geometry to
compass and straightedge constructions means a restriction to first- and
second-order equations, e.g., y = 2x + 1 (a line), or x2 + y2 = 7 (a circle).
Also in the 17th century, Girard Desargues, motivated by the theory of
perspective, introduced the concept of idealized points, lines, and planes at
infinity. The result can be considered as a type of generalized geometry,
projective geometry, but it can also be used to produce proofs in ordinary
Euclidean geometry in which the number of special cases is reduced.
18th Century
Geometres of the 18th century struggled to define the boundaries of the
Euclidean system. Many tried in vain to prove the fifth postulate from the
first four. By 1763 at least 28 different proofs had been published, but all
were found incorrect.
Leading up to this period, geometres also tried to determine what
constructions could be accomplished in Euclidean geometry. For example,
the problem of trisecting an angle with a compass and straightedge is one that
naturally occurs within the theory, since the axioms refer to constructive
operations that can be carried out with those tools.
However, centuries of efforts failed to find a solution to this problem,
until Pierre Wantzel published a proof in 1837 that such a construction was
impossible. Other constructions that were proved impossible include
doubling the cube and squaring the circle.
In the case of doubling the cube, the impossibility of the construction
originates from the fact that the compass and straightedge method involve
first- and second-order equations, while doubling a cube requires the solution
of a third-order equation.
Euler discussed a generalization of Euclidean geometry called affine
geometry, which retains the fifth postulate unmodified while weakening
postulates three and four in a way that eliminates the notions of angle
(whence right triangles become meaningless) and of equality of length of line
segments in general (whence circles become meaningless) while retaining the
notions of parallelism as an equivalence relation between lines, and equality
of length of parallel line segments (so line segments continue to have a
midpoint).
19th Century and Non-euclidean Geometry
In the early 19th century, Carnot and Möbius systematically developed
the use of signed angles and line segments as a way of simplifying and
unifying results.
The century’s most significant development in geometry occurred when,
around 1830, János Bolyai and Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky separately
published work on non-Euclidean geometry, in which the parallel postulate is
not valid. Since non-Euclidean geometry is provably relatively consistent
with Euclidean geometry, the parallel postulate cannot be proved from the
other postulates.
In the 19th century, it was also realized that Euclid’s ten axioms and
common notions do not suffice to prove all of theorems stated in the
Elements. For example, Euclid assumed implicitly that any line contains at
least two points, but this assumption cannot be proved from the other axioms,
and therefore must be an axiom itself.
The very first geometric proof in the Elements, shown in the figure
above, is that any line segment is part of a triangle; Euclid constructs this in
the usual way, by drawing circles around both endpoints and taking their
intersection as the third vertex. His axioms, however, do not guarantee that
the circles actually intersect, because they do not assert the geometrical
property of continuity, which in Cartesian terms is equivalent to the
completeness property of the real numbers.
Starting with Moritz Pasch in 1882, many improved axiomatic systems
for geometry have been proposed, the best known being those of Hilbert,
George Birkhoff, and Tarski.
20th Century and General Relativity
Einstein’s theory of general relativity shows that the true geometry of
spacetime is not Euclidean geometry. For example, if a triangle is constructed
out of three rays of light, then in general the interior angles do not add up to
180 degrees due to gravity. A relatively weak gravitational field, such as the
Earth’s or the sun’s, is represented by a metric that is approximately, but not
exactly, Euclidean.
Until the 20th century, there was no technology capable of detecting the
deviations from Euclidean geometry, but Einstein predicted that such
deviations would exist. They were later verified by observations such as the
slight bending of starlight by the Sun during a solar eclipse in 1919, and such
considerations are now an integral part of the software that runs the GPS
system. It is possible to object to this interpretation of general relativity on
the grounds that light rays might be improper physical models of Euclid’s
lines, or that relativity could be rephrased so as to avoid the geometrical
interpretations. However, one of the consequences of Einstein’s theory is that
there is no possible physical test that can distinguish between a beam of light
as a model of a geometrical line and any other physical model.
Thus, the only logical possibilities are to accept non-Euclidean geometry
as physically real, or to reject the entire notion of physical tests of the axioms
of geometry, which can then be imagined as a formal system without any
intrinsic real-world meaning.

Treatment of Infinity
Infinite Objects
 Euclid sometimes distinguished explicitly between “finite lines” (e.g.,
Postulate 2) and “infinite lines” (book I, proposition 12). However, he
typically did not make such distinctions unless they were necessary. The
postulates do not explicitly refer to infinite lines, although for example some
commentators interpret postulate 3, existence of a circle with any radius, as
implying that space is infinite.
The notion of infinitesimally small quantities had previously been
discussed extensively by the Eleatic School, but nobody had been able to put
them on a firm logical basis, with paradoxes such as Zeno’s paradox
occurring that had not been resolved to universal satisfaction. Euclid used the
method of exhaustion rather than infinitesimals.
Later ancient commentators such as Proclus (410–485 CE) treated many
questions about infinity as issues demanding proof and, e.g., Proclus claimed
to prove the infinite divisibility of a line, based on a proof by contradiction in
which he considered the cases of even and odd numbers of points constituting
it.
At the turn of the 20th century, Otto Stolz, Paul du Bois-Reymond,
Giuseppe Veronese, and others produced controversial work on non-
Archimedean models of Euclidean geometry, in which the distance between
two points may be infinite or infinitesimal, in the Newton–Leibniz sense.
Fifty years later, Abraham Robinson provided a rigorous logical foundation
for Veronese’s work.
Infinite Processes
One reason that the ancients treated the parallel postulate as less certain
than the others is that verifying it physically would require us to inspect two
lines to check that they never intersected, even at some very distant point, and
this inspection could potentially take an infinite amount of time.
The modern formulation of proof by induction was not developed until
the 17th century, but some later commentators consider it implicit in some of
Euclid’s proofs, e.g., the proof of the infinitude of primes.
Supposed paradoxes involving infinite series, such as Zeno’s paradox,
predated Euclid. Euclid avoided such discussions, giving, for example, the
expression for the partial sums of the geometric series in IX.35 without
commenting on the possibility of letting the number of terms become infinite.
 Logical Basis
Classical Logic
Euclid frequently used the method of proof by contradiction, and
therefore the traditional presentation of Euclidean geometry assumes classical
logic, in which every proposition is either true or false, i.e., for any
proposition P, the proposition “P or not P” is automatically true.
Modern Standards of Rigor
Placing Euclidean geometry on a solid axiomatic basis was a
preoccupation of mathematicians for centuries. The role of primitive notions,
or undefined concepts, was clearly put forward by Alessandro Padoa of the
Peano delegation at the 1900 Paris conference:
...when we begin to formulate the theory, we can imagine that the
undefined symbols are completely devoid of meaning and that
the unproved propositions are simply conditions imposed upon
the undefined symbols.
Then, the system of ideas that we have initially chosen is simply one
interpretation of the undefined symbols; but..this interpretation can be
ignored by the reader, who is free to replace it in his mind by another
interpretation.. that satisfies the conditions...
Logical questions thus become completely independent of empirical or
psychological questions...
The system of undefined symbols can then be regarded as the
abstraction obtained from the specialized theories that result when...the
system of undefined symbols is successively replaced by each of the
interpretations...
—Padoa, Essai d’une théorie algébrique des nombre entiers, avec une
Introduction logique à une théorie déductive qulelconque
That is, mathematics is context-independent knowledge within a
hierarchical framework. As said by Bertrand Russell:
If our hypothesis is about anything, and not about some one or
more particular things, then our deductions constitute
mathematics. Thus, mathematics may be defined as the subject in
 which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether
what we are saying is true.
—Bertrand Russell, Mathematics and the metaphysicians
Such foundational approaches range between foundationalism and
formalism.
Axiomatic Formulations
Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures.
—George Polyá, How to Solve It, p. 208
• Euclid’s axioms: In his dissertation to Trinity College, Cambridge,
Bertrand Russell summarized the changing role of Euclid’s geometry
in the minds of philosophers up to that time. It was a conflict between
certain knowledge, independent of experiment, and empiricism,
requiring experimental input. This issue became clear as it was
discovered that the parallel postulate was not necessarily valid and its
applicability was an empirical matter, deciding whether the
applicable geometry was Euclidean or non-Euclidean.
• Hilbert’s axioms: Hilbert’s axiom s h ad the goal of ident ifying a
simple and complete set of independent axioms from which the most
important geometric theorems could be deduced. The outstanding
objectives were to make Euclidean geometry rigorous (avoiding
hidden assumptions) and to make clear the ramifications of the
parallel postulate.
• Birkhoff’s axioms: Birkhoff proposed four postulates for Euclidean
geometry that can be confirmed experimentally with scale and
protractor. The notions of angle and distance become primitive
concepts.
• Tarski‘s axioms: Tarski (1902–1983) and his students defined
elementary Euclidean geometry as the geometry that can be
expressed in first-order logic and does not depend on set theory for its
logical basis, in contrast to Hilbert’s axioms, which involve point
sets. Tarski proved that his axiomatic formulation of elementary
Euclidean geometry is consistent and complete in a certain sense:
there is an algorithm that, for every proposition, can be shown either
true or false. (This doesn’t violate Gödel’s theorem, because
 Euclidean geometry cannot describe a sufficient amount of arithmetic
for the theorem to apply.) This is equivalent to the decidability of real
closed fields, of which elementary Euclidean geometry is a model.
Constructive Approaches and Pedagogy
The process of abstract axiomatization as exemplified by Hilbert’s
axioms reduces geometry to theorem proving or predicate logic. In contrast,
the Greeks used construction postulates, and emphasized problem solving.
For the Greeks, constructions are more primitive than existence
propositions, and can be used to prove existence propositions, but not vice
versa. To describe problem solving adequately requires a richer system of
logical concepts. The contrast in approach may be summarized:
• Axiomatic proof: Proofs are deductive derivations of propositions
from primitive premises that are ‘true’ in some sense. The aim is to
justify the proposition.
• Analytic proof: Proofs are non-deductive derivations of hypothesis
from problems. The aim is to find hypotheses capable of giving a
solution to the problem. One can argue that Euclid’s axioms were
arrived upon in this manner. In particular, it is thought that Euclid felt
the parallel postulate was forced upon him, as indicated by his
reluctance to make use of it, and his arrival upon it by the method of
contradiction.
Andrei Nicholaevich Kolmogorov proposed a problem solving basis for
geometry. This work was a precursor of a modern formulation in terms of
constructive type theory. This development has implications for pedagogy as
well.
If proof simply follows conviction of truth rather than contributing to its
construction and is only experienced as a demonstration of something already
known to be true, it is likely to remain meaningless and purposeless in the
eyes of students.
—Celia Hoyles,
The curricular shaping of students’ approach to proof

Planes Embedded in 3-dimensional Euclidean Space

This section is specifically concerned with planes embedded in three
dimensions: specifically, in R3.
Properties
In three-dimensional Euclidean space, we may exploit the following
facts that do not hold in higher dimensions:
• Two planes are either parallel or they intersect in a line.
• A line is either parallel to a plane, intersects it at a single point, or is
contained in the plane.
• Two lines perpendicular to the same plane must be parallel to each
other.
• Two planes perpendicular to the same line must be parallel to each
other.
Planes in Various Areas of Mathematics
In addition to its familiar geometric structure, with isomorphisms that are
isometries with respect to the usual inner product, the plane may be viewed at
various other levels of abstraction. Each level of abstraction corresponds to a
specific category.
At one extreme, all geometrical and metric concepts may be dropped to
leave the topological plane, which may be thought of as an idealized
homotopically trivial infinite rubber sheet, which retains a notion of
proximity, but has no distances.
The topological plane has a concept of a linear path, but no concept of a
straight line. The topological plane, or its equivalent the open disc, is the
basic topological neighbourhood used to construct surfaces (or 2-manifolds)
classified in low-dimensional topology. Isomorphisms of the topological
plane are all continuous bijections.
The topological plane is the natural context for the branch of graph
theory that deals with planar graphs, and results such as the four colour
theorem.
The plane may also be viewed as an affine space, whose isomorphisms
are combinations of translations and non-singular linear maps. From this
viewpoint there are no distances, but collinearity and ratios of distances on
any line are preserved.
Differential geometry views a plane as a 2-dimensional real manifold, a
topological plane which is provided with a differential structure. Again in this
case, there is no notion of distance, but there is now a concept of smoothness
of maps, for example a differentiable or smooth path (depending on the type
of differential structure applied). The isomorphisms in this case are bijections
with the chosen degree of differentiability.
In the opposite direction of abstraction, we may apply a compatible field
structure to the geometric plane, giving rise to the complex plane and the
major area of complex analysis. The complex field has only two
isomorphisms that leave the real line fixed, the identity and conjugation.
In the same way as in the real case, the plane may also be viewed as the
simplest, one-dimensional (over the complex numbers) complex manifold,
sometimes called the complex line. However, this viewpoint contrasts sharply
with the case of the plane as a 2-dimensional real manifold. The
isomorphisms are all conformal bijections of the complex plane, but the only
possibilities are maps that correspond to the composition of a multiplication
by a complex number and a translation.
In addition, the Euclidean geometry (which has zero curvature
everywhere) is not the only geometry that the plane may have. The plane may
be given a spherical geometry by using the stereographic projection. This can
be thought of as placing a sphere on the plane (just like a ball on the floor),
removing the top point, and projecting the sphere onto the plane from this
point). This is one of the projections that may be used in making a flat map of
part of the Earth’s surface. The resulting geometry has constant positive
curvature.
Alternatively, the plane can also be given a metric which gives it
constant negative curvature giving the hyperbolic plane. The latter possibility
finds an application in the theory of special relativity in the simplified case
where there are two spatial dimensions and one time dimension. (The
hyperbolic plane is a timelike hypersurface in three-dimensional Minkowski
space.)
Topological and Differential Geometric Notions
The one-point compactification of the plane is homeomorphic to a
sphere; the open disk is homeomorphic to a sphere with the “north pole”
missing; adding that point completes the (compact) sphere. The result of this
compactification is a manifold referred to as the Riemann sphere or the
complex projective line. The projection from the Euclidean plane to a sphere
without a point is a diffeomorphism and even a conformal map.
The plane itself is homeomorphic (and diffeomorphic) to an open disk.
For the Lobachevsky plane such diffeomorphism is conformal, but for the
Euclidean plane it is not.

Line (Geometry)
The notion of line or straight line was introduced by ancient
mathematicians to represent straight objects with negligible width and depth.
Lines are an idealization of such objects. Thus, until seventeenth century,
lines were defined like this: “The line is the first species of quantity, which
has only one dimension, namely length, without any width nor depth, and is
nothing else than the flow or run of the point which [...] will leave from its
imaginary moving some vestige in length, exempt of any width. [...] The
straight line is that which is equally extended between its points”
Euclid described a line as “breadthless length”, and introduced several
postulates as basic unprovable properties from which he constructed the
geometry, which is now called Euclidean geometry to avoid confusion with
other geometries which have been introduced since the end of nineteenth
century (such as non-Euclidean geometry, projective geometry, and affine
geometry).
In modern mathematics, given the multitude of geometries, the concept
of a line is closely tied to the way the geometry is described. For instance, in
analytic geometry, a line in the plane is often defined as the set of points
whose coordinates satisfy a given linear equation, but in a more abstract
setting, such as incidence geometry, a line may be an independent object,
distinct from the set of points which lie on it.
When a geometry is described by a set of axioms, the notion of a line is
usually left undefined (a so-called primitive object). The properties of lines
are then determined by the axioms which refer to them. One advantage to this
approach is the flexibility it gives to users of the geometry. Thus in
differential geometry a line may be interpreted as a geodesic (shortest path
between points), while in some projective geometries a line is a 2-
dimensional vector space (all linear combinations of two independent
vectors). This flexibility also extends beyond mathematics and, for example,
permits physicists to think of the path of a light ray as being a line.
A line segment is a part of a line that is bounded by two distinct end
points and contains every point on the line between its end points. Depending
on how the line segment is defined, either of the two end points may or may
not be part of the line segment. Two or more line segments may have some of
the same relationships as lines, such as being parallel, intersecting, or skew.
Ray
If the concept of “order” of points of a line is defined, a ray, or half-line,
may be defined as well. A ray is part of a line which is finite in one direction,
but infinite in the other. It can be defined by two points, the initial point, A,
and one other, B. The ray is all the points in the line segment between A and
B together with all points, C, on the line through A and B such that the points
appear on the line in the order A, B, C.

In topology, a ray in a space X is a continuous embedding R+ → X. It is

used to def ine the important concept of end of the space.
Vector Equation
The vector equation of the line through points A and B is given by r =
OA + AAB (where λ is a scalar multiple).
If a is vector OA and b is vector OB, then the equation of the line can be
written: r = a + X(b - a).
A ray starting at point A is described by limiting X>0.
Collinear Points
Three points are said to be collinear if they lie on the same line. In
Euclidean space, this is the degenerate condition where three points do not
determine a plane
In coordinate geometry, the points X=(x 1 , x2, ...), Y=(y1, y2, ...), and Z=
(z 1, z2, ...) are collinear if the matrix
has a rank less than 3. In particular, for three points in the plane, above
matrix is square and the points are collinear if its determinant is zero. In the
geometries where the line is not a primitive notion, as may be the case in
some synthetic geometries, another definition of colinearity is needed.
When the distance d(a,b) between two points a and b is a primitive
notion, the collinearity between three points may be defined by:
The points a, b and c are collinear if and only if d(x,a) = d(c,a) and
d(x,b) = d(c,b) implies x=c.
In Euclidean geometry this property is true, because the point which is
symmetric to c with respect to the line defined by a and b satisfies the
equalities on the left of “implies”, and this point is equal to c if and only if c
is on the line.
Euclidean Space
In Euclidean space, Rn (and analogously in every other affine space), the
line L passing through two different points a and b is the subset

The direction of the line is that of the vector b-a. Different choices of a
and b can yield the same line.
Projective Geometry
In projective geometry, a line is similar to that in Euclidean geometry but
has slightly different properties. In many models of projective geometry the
idea of the line rarely conforms to the notion of the “straight curve” as it is
visualised in Euclidean geometry. Elliptic geometry is a typical example of
when this happens.
Geodesics
The “straightness” of a line, interpreted as the property that it minimizes
distances between its points, can be generalized and leads to the concept of
geodesics in metric spaces.

Rotation (Mathematics)
In geometry and linear algebra, a rotation is a transformation in a plane
or in space that describes the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point. A
rotation is different from a translation, which has no fixed points, and from a
reflection, which “flips” the bodies it is transforming. A rotation and the
above-mentioned transformations are isometries; they leave the distance
between any two points unchanged after the transformation.
It is important to know the frame of reference when considering
rotations, as all rotations are described relative to a particular frame of
reference. In general for any orthogonal transformation on a body in a
coordinate system there is an inverse transformation which if applied to the
frame of reference results in the body being at the same coordinates.
For example in two dimensions rotating a body clockwise about a point
keeping the axes fixed is equivalent to rotating the axes counterclockwise
about the same point while the body is kept fixed.

Circle Group
In mathematics, the circle group, denoted by T, is the multiplicative
group of all complex numbers with absolute value 1, i.e., the unit circle in the
complex plane.
T = {z∈C:|z|=1}.
The circle group forms a subgroup of C, the multiplicative group of all
nonzero complex numbers. Since C is abelian, it follows that T is as well.
The circle group is also the group U(1) of 1 ×1 unitary matrices; these act on
the complex plane by rotation about the origin. The circle group can be
parametrized by the angle θ of rotation by

This is the exponential map for the circle group. The circle group plays a
central role in Pontryagin duality, and in the theory of Lie groups.
The notation T for the circle group stems from the fact that Tn (the direct
product of T with itself n times) is geometrically an n-torus. The circle group
is then a 1-torus.
Elementary Introduction
 Figure: Multiplication on the circle group is equivalent to addition of angles
One way to think about the circle group is that it describes how to add
angles, where only angles between 0° and 360° are permitted. For example,
the diagram illustrates how to add 150° to 270°. The answer should be 150° +
270° = 420°, but when thinking in terms of the circle group, we need to
“forget” the fact that we have wrapped once around the circle. Therefore we
adjust our answer by 360° which gives 420° = 60° (mod 360°).
Another description is in terms of ordinary addition, where only numbers
between 0 and 1 are allowed (with 1 corresponding to a full rotation). To
achieve this, we might need to throw away digits occurring before the
decimal point. For example, when we work out 0.784 + 0.925 + 0.446, the
answer should be 2.155, but we throw away the leading 2, so the answer (in
the circle group) is just 0.155.
 9: Topological and Analytic Structure

The circle group is more than just an abstract algebraic object. It has a
natural topology when regarded as a subspace of the complex plane. Since
multiplication and inversion are continuous functions on C, the circle group
has the structure of a topological group. Moreover, since the unit circle is a
closed subset of the complex plane, the circle group is a closed subgroup of C
(itself regarded as a topological group).
One can say even more. The circle is a 1-dimensional real manifold and
multiplication and inversion are real-analytic maps on the circle. This gives
the circle group the structure of a one-parametre group, an instance of a Lie
group. In fact, up to isomorphism, it is the unique 1-dimensional compact,
connected Lie group. Moreover, every n-dimensional compact, connected,
abelian Lie group is isomorphic to Tn.

Isomorphisms
The circle group shows up in a variety of forms in mathematics. We list
some of the more common forms here. Specifically, we show that

Note that the slash (/) denotes here quotient group.

The set of all 1×1 unitary matrices clearly coincides with the circle
group; the unitary condition is equivalent to the condition that its element
have absolute value 1. Therefore, the circle group is canonically isomorphic
to U(1), the first unitary group
The exponential function gives rise to a group homomorphism exp : R ->
T from the additive real numbers R to the circle group T via the map

The last equality is Euler’s formula. The real number 9 corresponds to

the angle on the unit circle as measured from the positive x-axis. That this
map is a homomorphism follows from the fact that the multiplication of unit
complex numbers corresponds to addition of angles:

This exponential map is clearly a surjective function from R to T. It is

not, however, injective. The kernel of this map is the set of all integer
multiples of 2tc. By the first isomorphism theorem we then have that

After rescaling we can also say that T is isomorphic to R/Z. If complex

numbers are realized as 2×2 real matrices, the unit complex numbers
correspond to 2×2 orthogonal matrices with unit determinant. Specifically,
we have

The circle group is therefore isomorphic to the special orthogonal group

SO(2). This has the geometric interpretation that multiplication by a unit
complex number is a proper rotation in the complex plane, and every such
rotation is of this form.
Properties
Every compact Lie group G of dimension > 0 has a subgroup isomorphic
to the circle group. That means that, thinking in terms of symmetry, a
compact symmetry group acting continuously can be expected to have one-
parametre circle subgroups acting; the consequences in physical systems are
seen for example at rotational invariance, and spontaneous symmetry
breaking.
The circle group has many subgroups, but its only proper closed
subgroups consist of roots of unity: For each integer n > 0, the nth roots of
unity form a cyclic group of order n, which is unique up to isomorphism.
Representations
The representations of the circle group are easy to describe. It follows
from Schur’s lemma that the irreducible complex representations of an
abelian group are all 1-dimensional.
Since the circle group is compact, any representation p : T -> GL(1, C)
E- C must take values in U(1) E- T.
Therefore, the irreducible representations of the circle group are just the
homomorphisms from the circle group to itself. Every such homomorphism is
of the form

These representations are all inequivalent. The representation φ is

conjugate top,

These representations are just the characters of the circle group. The
character group of T is clearly an infinite cyclic group generated byq1:

The irreducible real representations of the circle group are the trivial
representation (which is 1-dimensional) and the representations

taking values in SO(2). Here we only have positive integers n since the
representation p-n is equivalent to pn.

Rotation Group SO(3)

In mechanics and geometry, the 3D rotation group is the group of all
rotations about the origin of three-dimensional Euclidean space R3 under the
operation of composition.
By definition, a rotation about the origin is a linear transformation that
preserves length of vectors (it is an isometry) and preserves orientation (i.e.
handedness) of space.
A length-preserving transformation which reverses orientation is an
improper rotation, that is a reflection or more generally a rotoinversion.
Composing two rotations results in another rotation; every rotation has a
unique inverse rotation; and the identity map satisfies the definition of a
rotation.
Owing to the above properties (along with the associative property,
which rotations obey,) the set of all rotations is a group under composition.
Moreover, the rotation group has a natural manifold structure for which
the group operations are smooth; so it is in fact a Lie group. The rotation
group is often denoted SO(3) for reasons explained below.
Length and Angle
Besides just preserving length, rotations also preserve the angles between
vectors. This follows from the fact that the standard dot product between two
vectors u and v can be written purely in terms of length:

Besides just preserving length, rotations also preserve the angles between
vectors. This follows from the fact that the standard dot product between two
vectors u and v can be written purely in terms of length:
It follows that any length-preserving transformation in R3 preserves the
dot product, and thus the angle between vectors. Rotations are often defined
as linear transformations that preserve the inner product on R3. This is
equivalent to requiring them to preserve length.
Orthogonal and Rotation Matrices
Every rotation maps an orthonormal basis of R3 to another orthonormal
basis. Like any linear transformation of finite-dimensional vector spaces, a
rotation can always be represented by a matrix. Let R be a given rotation.
With respect to the standard basis (e1,e2 ,e3) of R3 the columns of R are
given by (Re1 ,Re2 ,Re3) . Since the standard basis is orthonormal, the
columns of R form another orthonormal basis. This orthonormality condition
can be expressed in the form
RTR=I
where RT denotes the transpose of R and I is the 3 × 3 identity matrix.
Matrices for which this property holds are called orthogonal matrices. The
group of all 3 × 3 orthogonal matrices is denoted O(3), and consists of all
proper and improper rotations.
In addition to preserving length, proper rotations must also preserve
orientation. A matrix will preserve or reverse orientation according to
whether the determinant of the matrix is positive or negative. For an
orthogonal matrix R, note that det RT = det R implies (det R)2 = 1 so that det
R = ±1. The subgroup of orthogonal matrices with determinant +1 is called
the special orthogonal group, denoted SO(3).
Thus every rotation can be represented uniquely by an orthogonal matrix
with unit determinant.
Moreover, since composition of rotations corresponds to matrix
multiplication, the rotation group is isomorphic to the special orthogonal
group SO(3).
Improper rotations correspond to orthogonal matrices with determinant
-1, and they do not form a group because the product of two improper
rotations is a proper rotation.
Group Structure
The rotation group is a group under function composition (or
equivalently the product of linear transformations). It is a subgroup of the
general linear group consisting of all invertible linear transformations of
Euclidean space.
Furthermore, the rotation group is nonabelian. That is, the order in which
rotations are composed makes a difference. For example, a quarter turn
around the positive x-axis followed by a quarter turn around the positive y-
axis is a different rotation than the one obtained by first rotating around y and
then x.
The orthogonal group, consisting of all proper and improper rotations, is
generated by reflections. Every proper rotation is the composition of two
reflections, a special case of the Cartan– Dieudonné theorem.
Axis of Rotation
Every nontrivial proper rotation in 3 dimensions fixes a unique 1-
dimensional linear subspace of R3 which is called the axis of rotation (this is
Euler’s rotation theorem).
Each such rotation acts as an ordinary 2-dimensional rotation in the plane
orthogonal to this axis. Since every 2-dimensional rotation can be represented
by an angle ϕ, an arbitrary 3-dimensional rotation can be specified by an axis
of rotation together with an angle of rotation about this axis. (Technically,
one needs to specify an orientation for the axis and whether the rotation is
taken to be clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to this orientation).
For example, counterclockwise rotation about the positive z-axis by
angle ϕ is given by
 Given a unit vector n in R3 and an angle φ, let R(φ, n) represent a
counterclockwise rotation about the axis through n (with orientation
determined by n). Then
• R(0, n) is the identity transformation for any n
• R(j, n) = R(- j, - n)
• R(p + j, n) = R(p - j, - n).
Using these properties one can show that any rotation can be represented
by a unique angle φ in the range 0 ≤ φ ≤ π and a unit vector n such that
• n is arbitrary if φ = 0
• n is unique if 0 <φ<π
• n is unique up to a sign if φ = π (that is, the rotations R(π, ±n) are
identical).
Charts on SO(3)]
In mathematics, the special orthogonal group in three dimensions,
otherwise known as the rotation group SO(3), is a naturally occurring
example of a manifold. The various charts on SO(3) set up rival coordinate
systems: in this case there cannot be said to be a preferred set of parametres
describing a rotation. There are three degrees of freedom, so that the
dimension of SO(3) is three. In numerous applications one or other
coordinate system is used, and the question arises how to convert from a
given system to another.
The Space of Rotations
In geometry the rotation group is the group of all rotations about the
origin of three-dimensional Euclidean space R3 under the operation of
composition.[1] By definition, a rotation about the origin is a linear
transformation that preserves length of vectors (it is an isometry) and
preserves orientation (i.e. handedness) of space.
A length-preserving transformation which reverses orientation is called
an improper rotation. Every improper rotation of three-dimensional Euclidean
space is rotation followed by a reflection in a plane through the origin.
 Composing two rotations results in another rotation; every rotation has a
unique inverse rotation; and the identity map satisfies the definition of a
rotation. Owing to the above properties, the set of all rotations is a group
under composition.
Moreover, the rotation group has a natural manifold structure for which
the group operations are smooth; so it is in fact a Lie group. The rotation
group is often denoted SO(3) for reasons explained below.
The space of rotations is isomorphic with the set of rotation operators
and the set of “orthonormal matrices with determinant +1”. It is also
isomorphic with the set of quaternions with their internal product, and also
equivalent to the set of rotation vectors, with a difficult internal composition
operation given by the product of their equivalent matrices.
Rotation vectors notation arise from the Euler’s rotation theorem which
states that any rotation in three dimensions can be described by a rotation by
some angle about some axis. Considering this, we can then specify the axis of
one of these rotations by two angles, and we can use the radius of the vector
to specify the angle of rotation. These vectors represent a ball in 3D with an
unusual topology.
This 3D solid sphere is equivalent to the surface of a 4D sphere, which is
also a 3D variety. For doing this equivalence, we will have to define how will
we represent a rotation with this 4D-embedded surface.

The Hypersphere of Rotations

Visualizing the Hypersphere
It is interesting to consider the space as the three dimensional sphere S3,
the boundary of a disk in 4-dimensional Euclidean space. For doing this, we
will have to define how will we represent a rotation with this 4D-embedded
surface.
The way in which the radius can be used to specify the angle of rotation
is not straightforward. It can be related to circles of latitude in a sphere with a
defined north pole and is explained following.
Beginning at the north pole of a sphere in three dimensional space, we
specify the point at the north pole to represent the identity rotation. In the
case of the identity rotation, no axis of rotation is defined, and the angle of
rotation (zero) is irrelevant. A rotation having a very small rotation angle can
be specified by a slice through the sphere parallel to the xy plane and very
near the north pole.
The circle defined by this slice will be very small, corresponding to the
small angle of the rotation.
As the rotation angles become larger, the slice moves southward, and the
circles become larger until the equator of the sphere is reached, which will
correspond to a rotation angle of 180 degrees. Continuing southward, the
radii of the circles now become smaller (corresponding to the absolute value
of the angle of the rotation considered as a negative number).
Finally, as the south pole is reached, the circles shrink once more to the
identity rotation, which is also specified as the point at the south pole.
Notice that a number of characteristics of such rotations and their
representations can be seen by this visualization.
The space of rotations is continuous, each rotation has a neighbourhood
of rotations which are nearly the same, and this neighbourhood becomes flat
as the neighbourhood shrinks.
Aliases
Also, each rotation is actually represented by two antipodal points on the
sphere, which are at opposite ends of a line through the centre of the sphere.
This reflects the fact that each rotation can be represented as a rotation about
some axis, or, equivalently, as a negative rotation about an axis pointing in
the opposite direction (a so-called double cover).
The “latitude” of a circle representing a particular rotation angle will be
half of the angle represented by that rotation, since as the point is moved
from the north to south pole, the latitude ranges from zero to 180 degrees,
while the angle of rotation ranges from 0 to 360 degrees. (the “longitude” of a
point then represents a particular axis of rotation.) Note however that this set
of rotations is not closed under composition.
Two successive rotations with axes in the xy plane will not necessarily
give a rotation whose axis lies in the xy plane, and thus cannot be represented
as a point on the sphere. This will not be the case with a general rotation in 3-
space, which do form a closed set under composition.
This visualization can be extended to a general rotation in 3 dimensional
space. The identity rotation is a point, and a small angle of rotation about
some axis can be represented as a point on a sphere with a small radius.
As the angle of rotation grows, the sphere grows, until the angle of
rotation reaches 180 degrees, at which point the sphere begins to shrink,
becoming a point as the angle approaches 360 degrees (or zero degrees from
the negative direction). This set of expanding and contracting spheres
represents a hypersphere in four dimensional space (a 3-sphere).
Just as in the simpler example above, each rotation represented as a point
on the hypersphere is matched by its antipodal point on that hypersphere. The
“latitude” on the hypersphere will be half of the corresponding angle of
rotation, and the neighbourhood of any point will become “flatter” (i.e. be
represented by a 3-D Euclidean space of points) as the neighbourhood
shrinks.
This behaviour is matched by the set of unit quaternions: A general
quaternion represents a point in a four dimensional space, but constraining it
to have unit magnitude yields a three dimensional space equivalent to the
surface of a hypersphere. The magnitude of the unit quaternion will be unity,
corresponding to a hypersphere of unit radius.
The vector part of a unit quaternion represents the radius of the 2-sphere
corresponding to the axis of rotation, and its magnitude is the sine of half the
angle of rotation. Each rotation is represented by two unit quaternions of
opposite sign, and, as in the space of rotations in three dimensions, the
quaternion product of two unit quaternions will yield a unit quaternion. Also,
the space of unit quaternions is “flat” in any infinitesimal neighbourhood of a
given unit quaternion.
Problems of the Parametrizations
There are problems in using these as more than local charts, to do with
their multiple-valued nature, and singularities. That is, one must be careful
above all to work only with diffeomorphisms in the definition of chart.
Problems of this sort are inevitable, since SO(3) is diffeomorphic to real
projective space RP3, which is a quotient of S3 by identifying antipodal
points, and charts try to model a manifold using R3.
This explains why, for example, the Euler angles appear to give a
variable in the 3-torus, and the unit quaternions in a 3-sphere. The uniqueness
of the representation by Euler angles breaks down at some points (cf. gimbal
lock), while the quaternion representation is always a double cover, with q
and -q giving the same rotation.
If we use a skew-symmetric matrix, every 3×3 skew-symmetric matrix is
determined by 3 parametres, and so at first glance, the parametre space is R3.
Exponentiating such a matrix results in an orthogonal 3×3 matrix of
determinant 1 – in other words, a rotation matrix, but this is a many-to-one
map.
Note that it is not a covering map – while it is a local homeomorphism
near the origin, it is not a covering map at rotations by 180 degrees.
It is possible to restrict these matrices to a ball around the origin in R3 so
that rotations do not exceed 180 degrees, and this will be one-to-one, except
for rotations by 180 degrees, which correspond to the boundary S2, and these
identify antipodal points – this is the cut locus. The 3-ball with this
identification of the boundary is RP3. A similar situation holds for applying a
Cayley transform to the skew-symmetric matrix.
Axis angle gives parametres in S2×S1; if we replace the unit vector by the
actual axis of rotation, so that n and -n give the same axis line, the set of axis
becomes RP2, the real projective plane. But since rotations around n and -n
are parameterized by opposite values of θ, the result is an S1 bundle over RP2,
which turns out to be RP3.
Fractional linear transformations use four complex parametres, a, b, c,
and d, with the condition that ad-bc is non-zero. Since multiplying all four
parametres by the same complex number does not change the parametre, we
can insist that ad-bc=1.
This suggests writing (a,b,c,d) as a 2×2 complex matrix of determinant 1,
that is, as an element of the special linear group SL(2,C). But not all such
matrices produce rotations: conformal maps on S2 are also included. To only
get rotations we insist that d is the complex conjugate of a, and c is the
negative of the complex conjugate of b. Then we have two complex numbers,
a and b, subject to |a|2+|b|2=1. If we write a+bj, this is a quaternion of unit
length.
Ultimately, since R3 is not RP3, there will be a problem with each of
these approaches. In some cases, we need to remember that certain parametre
values result in the same rotation, and to remove this issue, boundaries must
be set up, but then a path through this region in R3 must then suddenly jump
to a different region when it crosses a boundary.
Gimbal lock is a problem when the derivative of the map is not full rank,
which occurs with Euler angles and Tait–Bryan angles, but not for the other
choices. The quaternion representation has none of these problems (being a
two-to-one mapping everywhere), but it has 4 parametres with a condition
(unit length), which sometimes makes it harder to see the three degrees of
freedom available.
Applications
One area in which these considerations, in some form, become
inevitable, is the kinematics of a rigid body. One can take as definition the
idea of a curve in the Euclidean group E(3) of three-dimensional Euclidean
space, starting at the identity (initial position). The translation subgroup T of
E(3) is a normal subgroup, with quotient SO(3) if we look at the subgroup E+
(3) of direct isometries only (which is reasonable in kinematics).
The translational part can be decoupled from the rotational part in
standard Newtonian kinematics by considering the motion of the centre of
mass, and rotations of the rigid body about the centre of mass.
Therefore any rigid body movement leads directly to SO(3), when we
factor out the translational part.
These identifications illustrate that SO(3) is connected but not simply
connected. As to the latter, in the ball with antipodal surface points identified,
consider the path running from the “north pole” straight through the centre
down to the south pole. This is a closed loop, since the north pole and the
south pole are identified. This loop cannot be shrunk to a point, since no
matter how you deform the loop, the start and end point have to remain
antipodal, or else the loop will “break open”.
In terms of rotations, this loop represents a continuous sequence of
rotations about the z-axis starting and ending at the identity rotation (i.e. a
series of rotation through an angle ϕ where ϕ runs from 0 to 2π).
Surprisingly, if you run through the path twice, i.e., from north pole
down to south pole and back to the north pole so that ϕ runs from 0 to 4π, you
get a closed loop which can be shrunk to a single point: first move the paths
continuously to the ball’s surface, still connecting north pole to south pole
twice.
The second half of the path can then be mirrored over to the antipodal
side without changing the path at all. Now we have an ordinary closed loop
on the surface of the ball, connecting the north pole to itself along a great
circle. This circle can be shrunk to the north pole without problems.
The same argument can be performed in general, and it shows that the
fundamental group of SO(3) is cyclic group of order 2. In physics
applications, the non-triviality of the fundamental group allows for the
existence of objects known as spinors, and is an important tool in the
development of the spin-statistics theorem.
The universal cover of SO(3) is a Lie group called Spin(3). The group
Spin(3) is isomorphic to the special unitary group SU(2); it is also
diffeomorphic to the unit 3-sphere S3 and can be understood as the group of
unit quaternions (i.e. those with absolute value 1).
The connection between quaternions and rotations, commonly exploited
in computer graphics, is explained in quaternions and spatial rotations The
map from S3 onto SO(3) that identifies antipodal points of S3 is a surjective
homomorphism of Lie groups, with kernel {±1}. Topologically, this map is a
two-to-one covering map.

Rotation Formalisms in Three Dimensions

In geometry, various formalisms exist to express a rotation in three
dimensions as a mathematical transformation. In physics, this concept
extends to classical mechanics where rotational (or angular) kinematics is the
science of describing with numbers the purely rotational motion of an object.
According to Euler ‘s rotation theorem the general displacement of a
rigid body (or three-dimensional coordinate system) with one point fixed is
described by a rotation about some axis. This allows the use of rotations to
express orientations as a single rotation from a reference placement in space
of the rigid body (or coordinate system).
Furthermore, such a rotation may be uniquely described by a minimum
of three parametres. However, for various reasons, there are several ways to
represent it. Many of these representations use more than the necessary
minimum of three parametres, although each of them still has only three
degrees of freedom.
An example where rotation representation is used is in computer vision,
where an automated observer needs to track a target. Let’s consider a rigid
body, with an orthogonal right-handed triad a , *, and *of unit vectors fixed
to its body (representing the threeTxes of the object’s coordinate system).
The basic problem is to specify the orientation of this triad, and hence the
rigid body, in terms of the reference coordinate system (in our case the
observer’s coordinate system).
Rotation Matrix
The above mentioned triad of unit vectors is also called a basis.
Specifying the coordinates (scalar components) of this basis in its current
(rotated) position, in terms of the reference (non-rotated) coordinate axes,
will completely describe the rotation.
The three unit vectors which form the rotated basis each consist
of 3 coordinates, yielding a total of 9 parametres.
These parametres can be written as the elements of a 3 × 3 matrix A,
called a rotation matrix.
Typically, the coordinates of each of these vectors are arranged along a
column of the matrix (however, beware that an alternative definition of
rotation matrix exists and is widely used, where the vectors coordinates
defined above are arranged by rows)

The elements of the rotation matrix are not all independent - as Euler’s
rotation theorem dictates, the rotation matrix has only three degrees of
freedom.
The rotation matrix has the following properties:
• A is a real, orthogonal matrix, hence each of its rows or columns
represents a unit vector.
• The eigenvalues of A are
{1, e±iθ} = {1, cos(θ) + i sin(θ), cos(θ) - i sin(θ)} where i is the
standard imaginary unit with the property i 2 = -1
• The determinant of A is +1, equivalent to the product of its
eigenvalues.
• The trace of A is 1+2cos(θ), equivalent to the sum of its eigenvalues.
 The angle θwhich appears in the eigenvalue expression corresponds to
the angle of the Euler axis and angle representation.
The eigenvector corresponding with the eigenvalue of 1 is the
accompanying Euler axis, since the axis is the only (nonzero) vector which
remains unchanged by left-multiplying (rotating) it with the rotation matrix.
The above properties are equivalent to:

which is another way of stating that form a 3D orthonormal basis. Note

that the statements above constitute a total of 6 conditions (the cross product
contains 3), leaving the rotation matrix with just 3 degrees of freedom as
required
Two successive rotations represented by matrices A1 and A2are easily
combined as follows: Atotal = A2A1 (Note the order, since the vector being
rotated is multiplied from the right).
The ease by which vectors can be rotated using a rotation matrix, as well
as the ease of combining successive rotations, make the rotation matrix a very
useful and popular way to represent rotations, even though it is less concise
than other representations.
 Bibliography

Albert, A.: Regression and the Moore-Penrose Pseudoinverse, Ac adem ic Press, New York, USA,
1972.
Bishop, R. L. and R. J.: Crittenden Geometry of Manifolds, Academic Press, New York, USA, 1964.
Bonola, R.: History of Non-Euclidean Geometry. Hafner Publishing Company, New York, USA, 1912.
Boothby, W. M.: An Introduction to Differentiable Manifolds and Riemannian Geometry, Academic
Press, New York, USA, 1975.
Cartan, E.: Geometry of Riemannian Spaces, Math Sc i Press, Br ooklin e, MA, USA, 1983.
Darling, R. W. R.: Differential Forms and Connections, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK,
1994.
Do Carmo, M. P. : Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ,
USA, 1976.
———: Riemannian Geometry, Birkhauser, Boston, MA, USA, 1992.
Doolin, B. F. and C. F. Martin: Introduction to Differential Geometry for Engineers, Marcel Dekker,
Inc., New York, NY, USA, 1990.
Eisenhart, L. P. : An Introduction to Differential Geometry with Use of the Tensor Calculus, Princeton
University Press, Princeton, USA, 1940.
———: Riemannian Geometry, Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA, 1925.
Farebrother, R. W.: Linear Least Squares Computations, Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, USA, 1988.
Field, Judith V. : The Geometrical Work of Girard Desargues. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1987.
Gerretsen, J. C. H.: Lectures on Tensor Calculus and Differential Geometry,Academic Press, New
York, USA, 1982.
Gray, A.: Modern Differential Geometry of Curves and Surfaces, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA,
1993.
Gruber, M. H. J.: Regression Estimators: A Comparitive Study, Academic Press, San Diego CA, 1990.
Kendall, M. G.: A Course in the Geometry of n Dimensions, Hafner Publishing Company, New York,
USA, 1961.
Levi-Civita, T.: The Absolute Differential Calculus, Dover Publications, New York, USA, 1977.
Millman, R. S. and G. D. Parker: Elements of Differential Geometry,Dover Publications, New York,
USA, 2009.
Mlodinow, M.: Euclid’s window (the story of geometry from parallel lines to hyperspace), Harper &
Row, New York, USA, 1974.
Murray, M. K. and J. W. Rice: Differential Geometry and Statistics, Chapman & Hall, London, UK.
1993.
Nomizu, K. and T. Sasaki: Affine Differential Geometry, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK,
 1966.
Postnikov, M. M.: The Variational Theory of Geodesics, Dover, Publications, New York, 1983.
Robinson, E. A.: Least Squares Regression Analysis in Terms of Linear Algebra, Goose Pond Press,
Houston, USA, 1981.
Saville, D. J. and G. R. Wood: Statistical Methods: The Geometric Approach, Springer-Verlag, New
York, USA, 1991.
Weintraub , S . H . : Differential Forms: A Complement to Vector Calculus, Academic Press, San
Diego, CA, USA, 1997.