Questions tagged [rotations]

This tag is for questions about rotations: a type of rigid motion in a space.

In 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional Euclidean space, the rotation is a type of distance-preserving linear transformation that has a fixed point and preserves orientation. In terms of the usual inner product $\langle\cdot,\cdot\rangle$ on $\Bbb R^2$ and $\Bbb R^3$, rotations are the transformations $T$ such that $\langle Tx,Ty\rangle=\langle x,y\rangle$ for all $x,y$, and the determinant of $T$ is equal to 1.

Geometrically, the rotation in $\Bbb R^2$, "spins" the plane around a point without flipping the plane or sliding it. In $\Bbb R^3$, a rotation fixes a line (called the axis of rotation) and "spins" the space around this line (without reflecting or sliding).

More generally, given an inner product space $V$ over a field $\Bbb F$, anything in the part of the orthogonal group connected to the identity can be considered a "rotation." This allows rotations to be defined for $\Bbb R^n$ for $n$ greater than 2 and 3, as well as vector spaces over fields other than $\Bbb R$.

As an example, the space $\Bbb R^4$ with a non-Euclidean metric $(1,1,1,-1)$ is Minkowski space which is a model for special relativity. Rotations still play an important role here beyond that of rotations in the spacial coordinates. For example, Lorentz transformations are rotations which move the time coordinate.

Rotations can also be represented in terms of matrices and the tag often goes with this tag, as questions can pertain to rotation matrices.

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How to rotate $z=x^2-y^2$ by $45$ degrees about the $z$ axis?

I tried $z=(x\cos(45^{\circ})+y\sin(45^{\circ}))^2-(y\cos(45^{\circ})+x\sin(45^{\circ}))^2$ http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=z%3D(xcos(45)%2Bysin(45))%5E2-(ycos(45)%2Bxsin(45))%5E2 Wolfram says that it is a plane, which is obviously incorrect.
User3910
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Vector rotation to align with a point

Let's say I have a vector $\overrightarrow{a}$ (as shown by the arrow in the picture) with a certain angle $\theta$ relative to $x$-axis, which denotes a tangent line of a circle $C$ with radius $r$. The goal is to rotate $\overrightarrow{a}$…
gilianzz
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Relative Rotation Calculations (Cardinal)

I am trying to build a rotation calculation that is relative to the plane the object exist in. In my situation I can consider all objects to be independent rigid bodies. To further simplify my issues for this scenario all rotations are locked to the…
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Normal rotation of several points vs rotation in "phase" space

Suppose I have rigid body of $N$ points in 3D space. I can rotate this body as a whole in that 3D space. Now suppose I took all coordinates of all points and put them into single $3N$ dimensional vector. Is it a point in "phase" space. And I also…
Dims
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Calculating visible area of a rotated box

I have a box with some text in it as shown in the picture below. An example of the rotation is shown below, where the rotation is 40 degrees. Another example of the rotation is shown below, where the rotation is 140 degrees. I know the start…
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Rotation matrix formula derivation?

I would like to understand where to following formula for a 2-D rotation matrix is derived from: $R =\frac{1}{a^2+b^2} \left(\begin{array}{cc} a^2-b^2 & 2ab\\ -2ab & a^2-b^2 \end{array}\right)$ I believe the answer is geometric and if it is, a…
Tony
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Rotating a conic equation

Identify the type of conic, transform the equation in x and y into equation in X and Y (without an XY term) by rotating the x- and y- axes by $θ=30^\circ$ to arrive at the new X- and Y- axes and graph the resulting equation showing both sets of…
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How to calculate true rotations for rendering in OpenGL?

If I want to rotate my object in 3 dimensions x, y and z, it will not rotate correctly because ot these world axis shifts after previous rotations. I know why it is not working like I want, my question is, is there any algorithm which can calculate…
ramad7
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Rotation matrix around z-axis with coordinates in terms of x, y, z

Let $T(\theta): \Bbb R^3 \to \Bbb R^3$ be the rotation on the angle $\theta$ around $z$-axis. Write it in terms of coordinates $x, y, z$ and compute its Jacobian matrix. I know the rotation matrix in terms of $\theta$, but how can I write it in…
Cindy
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Magnitude of rotation in $\mathbb R^3$ from rotation matrix

Given a rotation matrix $Q \in \mathbb R^3$, how to find a magnitude of rotation. I guess it makes sense to say that identity matrix $I$ is considered 0 magnitude and the rotation of $-I$ is considered maximum magnitude. It would also makes sense…
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On the rotation of points issue

Why do these formulas rotate a point $(x,y)$ counterclockwise or clockwise by an angle of $\theta$? I have no idea how to start; I want a step-by-step explanation. Counterclockwise: $x'=x\cos\theta-y\sin\theta$, $y'=x\sin\theta+y\cos\theta$ …
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Calculating the distance in degrees between two points on a circle

In a video game I am I'm working on I'm trying to rotate an object around a secondary object. The secondary object will always be in the exact center and the rotating object will always rotate in a circular pattern. As the object rotates around the…
omatase
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Estimate angular velocity and angular acceleration from a point cloud sequence

Lets say I have the a set of points $P = \{p_1, p_2, ...\}, p_i \in R^3$ that change position with time. These points are part of a rigid body and I record these positions in order to estimate its properties. Also, I know the linear velocity and…
crow
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Type and mathematics of a spiral

Can anyone provide the name of a type of spiral described in the following, and a link to any description of the math that describes the spiral: It is like an Archimedean spiral but with one difference. An Archimedean spiral is the locus of points…
AnoNY
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Full rotation yields opposite state

A while back I learned about systems which could undergo a "full revolution" and end up in the opposite state they were in when they started. Two full revolutions were required in order to return to the origin. Does anyone know what these systems…
RoboCop87
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