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The thumb shall point in the normal direction of the surface in question and the four remaining fingers in the direction of the rotation of the surface. The resulting direction of the rotation is thereby [citation needed] Normal right rotation = counterclockwise; Normal left rotation = clockwise
A helix is a curved line formed by a point rotating around a center while the center moves up or down the z-axis. Helices are either right or left handed with curled fingers giving the direction of rotation and thumb giving the direction of advance along the z-axis. The threads of a screw are helical and therefore screws can be right- or left ...
This definition is independent of the object's direction of rotation about its axis. This implies that an object's direction of rotation, when viewed from above its north pole, may be either clockwise or counterclockwise. The direction of rotation exhibited by most objects in the solar system (including Sun and Earth) is counterclockwise.
In the active transformation (left), a point P is transformed to point P ′ by rotating clockwise by angle θ about the origin of a fixed coordinate system. In the passive transformation (right), point P stays fixed, while the coordinate system rotates counterclockwise by an angle θ about its origin.
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. [2] [3] A rotation of axes is a linear map [4] [5] and a rigid transformation.
From the point of view of the observer, dextrorotation refers to clockwise or right-handed rotation, and laevorotation refers to counterclockwise or left-handed rotation. [3] [4] A chemical compound that causes dextrorotation is dextrorotatory or dextrorotary, while a compound that causes laevorotation is laevorotatory or laevorotary. [5]
When using this convention, left- or right-handedness is determined by pointing one's left or right thumb away from the source, in the same direction that the wave is propagating, and matching the curling of one's fingers to the direction of the temporal rotation of the field at a given point in space.
The terms are derived from the Latin words for "left" (sinister) and "right" (dexter). Other disciplines use different terms (such as dextro-and laevo-rotary in chemistry, or clockwise and anticlockwise in physics) or simply use left and right (as in anatomy). Relative direction and chirality are distinct concepts.