Spherical Coordinate System with Unit Vectors

r

5

θ

0.688009

ϕ

π

4

This Demonstration shows a vector



r

in the spherical coordinate system with coordinates

(r,θ,ϕ)

, where

r

is the length of



r

,

θ

is the angle in the

x

-

y

plane from the

x

axis to the projection of



r

onto the

x

-

y

plane, and

ϕ

is the angle between the

z

axis and



r

. Also shown is a unit vector



n

that is normal to the sphere (of radius





r



centered at the origin) at the red point and two unit vectors



t

1

and



t

2

that determine the tangent plane to the sphere at the red point.

External Links

Spherical Coordinates (Wolfram MathWorld)

Unit Vector (Wolfram MathWorld)

Permanent Citation

Juan Manuel Merlo R

"Spherical Coordinate System with Unit Vectors"
http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/SphericalCoordinateSystemWithUnitVectors/
Wolfram Demonstrations Project
Published: June 17, 2011