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Consider the position vector
Assume that both
and
are increased by small amounts
and
respectively. Then the point that was orginally at
now
moves to the new position given by
where
 |
(1.28) |
The coefficients of
and
are both unity but these factors
are called the scale factors. In other coordinate systems
the scale factors will be different from unity and they are important
in the general forms of div, grad and curl. The infinitesimal area is
 |
(1.29) |
and div, grad and curl take the simple form
Next: 2D Cylindrical Polars
Up: Non-Cartesian Coordinates
Previous: Non-Cartesian Coordinates
Prof. Alan Hood
2000-11-06