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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Solid of revolution in cylindrical coordinates

$f:[a,b]\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ is continuous and $R_f\subset\mathbb{R}^3$ is the solid of revolution that resulted from the rotation of the graph of $f$ around the x-axis. Evaluate $\mu(R_f)$ [$=$ Volume of the body (as far as I know)]. Use…
kaos
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How to represent rotation of a spinning 'bottle' around z-axis9 in an animation

I am trying to create a simple animation of a bottle that is lying on X-Y plane, that spins around z-axis, where X axis and Y axis are perpendicular to each other, and along the plane of your monitor, while Z - axis is the line coming out of the…
Arvind
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Vorticity field, rigid body

Derive an expression for the velocity field (u(x,y), v(x,y)) and show the vorticity field is the same at every point (x,y)? . When refering to the velocity field , is it refering to the components of velocity in the x and y directions that is…
Massin
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How can I know the height to shoot an arrow to get it to hit a certain location?

I am currently creating a game where archers will have to shoot each other in a 3D space. I have got the correct X and Z directions to shoot the arrow torward the enemy archer, but how can I know how high to shoot the arrow so that it lands in the…
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How can I know where to shoot a projectile to make it hit a point?

I have got two objects in a world. One of them is an archer, and I would like him to shoot the other one in a 3D space. How do I know what X, Y, and Z velocities to give the arrow? I obviously know about sines and cosines and stuff, but for some…
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Rotation Tensor (Basic)

I got a question about rotation tensor: Refer to page 4 of this file. There is an expression $$ n_{12} = \frac{1}{2\sin\phi_{12}} (R_{12} – R_{12}^T ).$$ I don’t know how it can be worked out…. In equation (3.11), trace of tensor is mentioned. Is…
RalphC
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Rotate a point around a rectangle

This is kind of a strange problem so I'll do my best to describe it. If you have a rectangle, the example I've been testing with is 13x8, and you have a point that is around the outside of the rectangle like the image below. The top left of the rect…
Justin G
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Determining the points of a rotated square.

I have a square with the following four corner points: (0, 0),(100 0),(100 100),(0, 100). The square is then rotated clockwise ten degrees. What is the formula that will allow me to determine its new location? Thanks.
jb3330421
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Drawing a line at a angle and limiting it's end points

I'm trying to draw lines at a specific angle and the algorithm I'm using is : x1,y1 - start coordinates of the line x2 = x1 + l * cos(angle) y2 = y1 + l * sin(angle) My problem is that l, which is the length of the line is a fixed variable and if I…
Lexx
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Vector rotation

Given a unit vector and an angle of rotation about the unit vector, how do I quickly compute the rotation matrix. I know there must be a simple formula, but I have been unable to find it.
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What does rotation northwards and rotation eastwards mean?

The following quote is causing me trouble: " For instance, suppose we start off at ($0^\circ$N, $0^\circ$W), which is just off the Atlantic coast of equatorial Africa, and rotate $90^\circ$ northwards and then $90^\circ$ eastwards. We end up at…
DLV
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Definition of rotations

The naive way I think about rotations is by imagining a finger sliding the sphere and in doing so it traces a spherical curve. This processes is then possibly repeated starting from a different point and so on. Let's start now with a spherical curve…
vertvolt
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Tail of rotated vector not properly defined using Rodrigues' rotation formula

I programmed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigues%27_rotation_formula for some graphics stuff, but encountered what seems to be a math problem with the formula, as discussed below... The wikipedia formula itself is,     $\vec v_{rot} = \vec…
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How can I get if an object is facing another in degrees if one has 0 and the other one has 360?

I'm developing a model for the collision for two ships. First, I have the angle that the first ship would be pointing if it was to directly point at the second ship. I'll call the angle between the two ships $\phi$. Next, I have the measured angle…
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I want to set up a rotation for my 6 team members to meet for lunch each month

I have a team of $6$ that will meet in pairs of $2$ each month ($3$ groups each month) throughout the year. How do I set up a rotation to distribute?
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