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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Rotate a cube diagonally

I was wondering how it would be possible for me to rotate a cube diagonally 360 degrees. I am able to rotate it over the x-axis, y-axis and z-axis with the following formulas : **x-axis** y = v.y*cos(degree) - v.z*sin(degree); z = v.y*sin(degree) +…
Unknown
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Proof that there are only two directions of rotation around an axis?

It seems self-evident that there are only two directions an object can rotate in around a linear axis (clockwise and counter-clockwise). But as math has taught me over the years, self-evident is not the same as correct. Can it be proven that there…
Joe
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Difference between Direction cosine matrix (DCM) and rotation matrix

I am a bit confused about the difference between direction cosine matrix(DCM) and rotation matrix. I have searched through the literature but found no explicit explanation if they are different or same and when should each of them be used. For DCM I…
Owais
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Calculating rotation matrix of coordinate system from 2 known axis

In the image my main coordinate system is in the upper right corner. I measured $3$ points on a board and created a help coordinate system. V1 points directly to the origin of the help coordinate system. V2 and V3 lie on different axis of the help…
komirdo
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rotate the graph of any function about any point

I am trying to take an arbitrary function and rotate it by an arbitrary amount of degrees about an arbitrary point. So far, I have the following function: $$f(x,y)=\frac{g\left(x\cos(-O)-y\sin(-O)\right)-x\sin\left(-O\right)}{\cos(-O)}$$ that can…
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Finding all rotations that send one vector to another

In a comment about an answer I gave in Rotating one 3d-vector to another, @victorvalbert asks "What about finding all rotation matrices that rotate one point to another?" I wanted to provide an answer, so I've put it here so I can answer my own…
John Hughes
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Rotation matrix if X Y Z (The angles through which x y and z axis have been rotated ) are given.

If the x-axis is rotated by X degrees and y, z-axis by Y and Z degrees respectively, then how to find the rotation matrix. X Y Z are the angles by which each axis is rotated from the reference axis. For a single rotation of 45 degrees about z axis,…
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Rectangle in rotated bounding rectangle

I'm looking to find the width and height of a rectangle without rotation within a rotated bounding rectangle. I have rotation in degrees and the width and height of the bounding rectangle. Basically I'm looking to find the largest ( largest area )…
Jordan
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How to rotate a vector to get the magic angle?

I have vector x = (1,0,0). I need to find a set of rotations which transform it in such a way that it forms the magic angle with each axis. The magic angle is equal to $\arccos \left(\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\right)$. It seems intuitive to rotate 45…
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Euler angle From one position to another.

I am learning about Euler angles and I found that if i want to make some given orientation of the object with fixed reference frame then use the successive rotation on the object $$R_1(\phi)R_2(\theta)R_3(\psi)$$ My question is if I make rotation…
TIWARI
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Rotations which are isomorphic

I have two irrational rotations $R_1x=x+\alpha$, $R_2x=x+\beta$ which are isomorphic. I need to prove that there exists $a,b \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $a\alpha+b\beta \in \mathbb{Z}$. How can I do that?
Mayers
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How do you work out the position of a rotated line?

If I have a line segment that starts at origins and is parallel to the x-axis, how do I work out the position on the X axis of x if it is rotated by say 45 degrees? I know the degree and I know the length of the line.. so I use what formula? Is it…
aJynks
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Calculating new rotation matrix with its derivative given

I've got a skew-symmetric matrix representing gyroscope measurements, say $\Omega = [p,q,r]^T$, with $p$, $q$, $r$ being the angular velocities around $X$, $Y$ and $Z$ axes. I know my system's dynamics is: $\dot{R} = R \Omega_\times$ with…
mmm
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Angles of rotation

I am haunted by a problem of angles of rotation. Here's my nightmare. At the origin of an inertial frame $R_0(XYZ)$, there is a ball. Another reference frame $R(xyz)$ is fixed to the center of this ball. At the beginning, the origin of $R_0$…
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How to integrate 3D rotations (orientations)?

What is the 3D rotation equivalent of integrating (or a simpler version of the problem, simply evaluating or enumerating) all the values? For example in one dimension we have the possibility of an improper integral that covers an infinite range of…
Steven Lu
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