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In geometry, a position or position vector, also known as location vector or radius vector, is a Euclidean vector that represents a point P in space. Its length represents the distance in relation to an arbitrary reference origin O , and its direction represents the angular orientation with respect to given reference axes.
Aside from the notion of units and support, physical vector quantities may also differ from Euclidean vectors in terms of metric. For example, an event in spacetime may be represented as a position four-vector, with coherent derived unit of meters: it includes a position Euclidean vector and a timelike component, t ⋅ c 0 (involving the speed ...
In physics and geometry, there are two closely related vector spaces, usually three-dimensional but in general of any finite dimension. Position space (also real space or coordinate space) is the set of all position vectors r in Euclidean space, and has dimensions of length; a position vector defines a point in space.
This glossary of physics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to physics, its sub-disciplines, and related fields, including mechanics, materials science, nuclear physics, particle physics, and thermodynamics.
The magnitude of a vector (such as distance) is another example of an invariant, because it remains fixed even if geometrical vector components vary. (For example, for a position vector of length meters, if all Cartesian basis vectors are changed from meters in length to meters in length, the length of the position vector remains unchanged at ...
Snap, [6] or jounce, [2] is the fourth derivative of the position vector with respect to time, or the rate of change of the jerk with respect to time. [4] Equivalently, it is the second derivative of acceleration or the third derivative of velocity, and is defined by any of the following equivalent expressions: = ȷ = = =.
The position vector describes the position of the body in the chosen frame of reference, while the velocity vector describes its velocity in the same frame at the same time. Together, these two vectors and the time at which they are valid uniquely describe the body's trajectory as detailed in Orbit determination .
For example, the orientation in space of a line, line segment, or vector can be specified with only two values, for example two direction cosines. Another example is the position of a point on the Earth, often described using the orientation of a line joining it with the Earth's center, measured using the two angles of longitude and latitude.