spherical coordinates

British  

plural noun

1. three coordinates that define the location of a point in three-dimensional space in terms of the length r of its radius vector, the angle, θ, which this vector makes with one axis, and the angle, φ, made by a second axis, perpendicular to the first, with the plane containing the first axis and the point. Usually written ( r , θ, φ)

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Example Sentences

For the volume element of the subbox ΔV in spherical coordinates, we have ΔV = ⎛Δρ⎞⎛ρΔφ⎞⎛ρ sin φΔθ⎞, , as shown in the following figure.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

The following figure shows a few solid regions that are convenient to express in spherical coordinates.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

We also used this idea when we transformed double integrals in rectangular coordinates to polar coordinates and transformed triple integrals in rectangular coordinates to cylindrical or spherical coordinates to make the computations simpler.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Although the shape of Earth is not a perfect sphere, we use spherical coordinates to communicate the locations of points on Earth.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016

Express the location of San Francisco in spherical coordinates.

From Textbooks • Mar. 30, 2016