Skip to content
Snippets Groups Projects

First major update of src/2_coordinates.md

Merged Maciej Topyla requested to merge maciejedits into master
1 file
+ 9
6
Compare changes
  • Side-by-side
  • Inline
+ 9
6
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ the angular coordinate $\varphi$ is dimensionless.
<figure markdown>
![image](figures/Coordinates_7_0.svg)
<figcaption>In this example of a polar plot, you can distinguish the radial coordinate (0.2, 0.4 etc.) \\from the angular one expressed in degrees ($0^\circ$, $45^\circ$ etc.).</figcaption>
<figcaption>In this example of a polar plot, you can distinguish the radial coordinate (0.2, 0.4 etc.) from the angular one expressed in degrees ($0^\circ$, $45^\circ$ etc.).</figcaption>
</figure>
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ $$\begin{equation} y = r \sin \varphi.\end{equation}$$
The inverse relation is given as:
!!! info "Inverse relation between polar and Cartesian coordinate systems"
$$\begin{equation} r=\sqrt{x^2 + y^2}; \label{rxy}\end{equation}$$
\begin{equation} r=\sqrt{x^2 + y^2}; \label{rxy}\end{equation}
\begin{equation} \varphi=\begin{cases}
\arctan(y/x) & \text{$x>0$,}\\
\pi + \arctan(y/x) & \text{$x<0$ and $y>0$,}\\
@@ -117,7 +117,10 @@ If we consider two points which are *very close*, the analysis
simplifies however. We can use the geometry of the problem to find the
distance (see the figure below).
![image](figures/Coordinates_11_0.svg)
<figure markdown>
![image](figures/Coordinates_11_0.svg)
<figcaption></figcaption>
</figure>
When going from point 1 to point 2, we first traverse a small circular
arc of radius $r_1$ and then we move a small distance radially outward
@@ -161,7 +164,7 @@ understood: the area swept by an angle difference $d\varphi$
<iframe width="100%" height=315 src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NGQWGx71w98?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Often, in physics important equations involve derivatives given in terms
Important equations in physics often involve derivatives given in terms
of Cartesian coordinates. One prominent example are equations of the form
$$\left(\frac{\partial^2}{\partial x^2} + \frac{\partial^2}{\partial y^2}\right)
f(x, y) = \ldots.$$
@@ -169,7 +172,7 @@ The derivative operator $\left(\frac{\partial^2}{\partial x^2} +
\frac{\partial^2}{\partial y^2}\right)$ is so common it has its own name:
the Laplacian (here for two-dimensional space).
Such an equation is universal, but for particular situations it might be
This equation is universal, but for particular situations it might be
advantageous to use a different coordinate system, such as polar coordinates
for a system with rotational symmetry. The question then is: How does the
corresponding equation look like in a different coordinate system?
@@ -178,7 +181,7 @@ There are different ways to find the answer. Here, we will focus on
directly deriving the transformed equation through an explicit calculation
involving the chain rule for a function of several variables.
!!! info Chain rule for a multi-variable function
!!! info "Chain rule for a multi-variable function"
Let $f$ be a function of $n$ variables: $f(y_1, y_2, \ldots, y_n)$,
as well as $g_i(x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_n)$ for $i=1,2,\ldots, n$. Then
Loading