Uses
of Rectangular, Cylindrical, and Spherical Coordinates (continued)
Spherical Coordinates of a point ,P, in space are: ( ρ, θ, φ ) Let ρ
= magnitude of vector from the
origin, O, out to the point P θ =
angle between the x-axis and
the line formed by the projection of
ρ on to the x-y plane NOTE: This projection is the same as r in
cylindrical coordinates so θ
has the same meaning for both spherical and cylindrical coordinates φ =
angle between the z-axis and
ρ
So
the rectangular coordinates (x, y, z) of
P in spherical coordinates are: x = ρ sin φ cos θ , y = ρ sin φ sin θ , z = ρ cos φ |
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Copyright © 2017 Richard C. Coddington
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