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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°). In mathematics, the polar coordinate system specifies a given point in a plane by using a distance and an angle as its two coordinates. These are
The polar angle is denoted by [,]: it is the angle between the z-axis and the radial vector connecting the origin to the point in question. The azimuthal angle is denoted by φ ∈ [ 0 , 2 π ] {\displaystyle \varphi \in [0,2\pi ]} : it is the angle between the x -axis and the projection of the radial vector onto the xy -plane.
Let (x, y, z) be the standard Cartesian coordinates, and (ρ, θ, φ) the spherical coordinates, with θ the angle measured away from the +Z axis (as , see conventions in spherical coordinates). As φ has a range of 360° the same considerations as in polar (2 dimensional) coordinates apply whenever an arctangent of it is taken. θ has a range ...
Once the radius is fixed, the three coordinates (r, θ, φ), known as a 3-tuple, provide a coordinate system on a sphere, typically called the spherical polar coordinates. The plane passing through the origin and perpendicular to the polar axis (where the polar angle is a right angle ) is called the reference plane (sometimes fundamental plane ).
A point P has coordinates (x, y) with respect to the original system and coordinates (x′, y′) with respect to the new system. [1] In the new coordinate system, the point P will appear to have been rotated in the opposite direction, that is, clockwise through the angle . A rotation of axes in more than two dimensions is defined similarly.
On scientific calculators the function can often be calculated as the angle given when (x, y) is converted from rectangular coordinates to polar coordinates. Systems supporting symbolic mathematics normally return an undefined value for atan2(0, 0) or otherwise signal that an abnormal condition has arisen.
Let P be the point on the lower unit hemisphere whose spherical coordinates are (140°, 60°) and whose Cartesian coordinates are (0.321, 0.557, −0.766). This point lies on a line oriented 60° counterclockwise from the positive x -axis (or 30° clockwise from the positive y -axis) and 50° below the horizontal plane z = 0 .
If two lines a and k pass through a single point Q, then the polar q of Q joins the poles A and K of the lines a and k, respectively. The concepts of a pole and its polar line were advanced in projective geometry. For instance, the polar line can be viewed as the set of projective harmonic conjugates of a given point, the pole, with respect to ...