PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [1]

Lecture 03

Coordinate systems
Continue…
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [2]

Cartesian co-ordinate system in 3D

Z • In Cartesian coordinate system, one
can define three unit vectors 𝑥ො ,
𝒛ො 𝑦ො and 𝑧Ƹ at every point.
P(x, y, z) • 𝒙ෝ, 𝒚ෝ and 𝒛ෝ are unit vectors in the
ෝ
𝒚 increasing direction of x, y and z.
• 𝒙
ෝ⊥𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐙 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞 ,ෞ𝒚 ⊥𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐗𝐙 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞
ෝ
𝒙
and 𝒛ෝ ⊥𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐗𝐘 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞
Y
• 𝑥ො , 𝑦ො and 𝑧Ƹ are orthogonal, and directed
X
ෝ
𝒙 in the same direction at every points.
𝒛ෝ ෝ × 𝒚ෝ = 𝒛ෝ ; 𝒚
𝒙 ෝ × 𝒛ෝ = 𝒙ෝ ; 𝒛ෝ × 𝒙ෝ = 𝒚
ෝ;
𝒚ෝ
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [3]

Cylindrical Coordinate System

z How to locate a point ‘P’ in space ?

𝒛ො 𝒓, 𝜽, 𝒛 coordinates system is known

as cylindrical coordinate system
෡
𝜽
(𝒓, 𝜽) Coordinate of the foot of the
P(r,,z) point in XY plane
𝒓ො
𝒛-Height from the XY plane
z ෡ , and 𝒛ො are unit vectors along
𝒓ො , 𝜽
increasing direction of 𝒓, 𝜽, and 𝒛.
y
 r
y=rsin

x
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [4]

Cylindrical Coordinate System

z Note that point (𝑟, 𝜃, 𝑧) is at the
intersection of three surfaces:
The surface with 𝒓 =Constant; Cylinder

Surface with 𝜽 = Constant; Plane containing Z-axis

𝒓
Surface 𝒛 = Constant. Plane Perpendicular Z-axis

y
𝜽

x
The three orthogonal components, r (green),  (red), and z (blue), each increasing at
a constant rate. The point is at the intersection between the three colored surfaces.
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [5]

Cylindrical Coordinate System

z Transformation equation is very
𝒛ො similar to polar coordinate with
additional 𝒛-coordinate.
෡
𝜽
P(r,,z) 𝒙 = 𝒓 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽
𝒓ො 𝒚 = 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽
𝒛=𝒛
z
Reverse transformation
y 𝟏ൗ
 r 𝒓= 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 𝟐
𝒚
y=rsin 𝜽= 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝒙
𝒛=𝒛
x
Note: Instead of (𝑟, 𝜃), many
books use notation (𝜌, 𝜑).
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [6]

Cylindrical Coordinate System

z Polar coordinate unit vectors (𝑟,Ƹ 𝜃) መ + additional
unit vector in the 𝑧 −direction.
𝒛ො ෡ and 𝒛ො are unit vectors along increasing
𝒓ො , 𝜽
෡ direction of coordinates 𝒓, 𝜽 and 𝒛.
𝜽
P(r,,z) 𝒓ො = 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 𝒙ෝ+ 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝒚
ෝ
෡ = - 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝒙
𝜽 ෝ+ 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 𝒚
ෝ
𝒓ො
𝒛ො = 𝒛ො
z መ and 𝒛ො are orthogonal, the directions of
𝑟,Ƹ 𝜃,
መ depend on location but 𝒛ො is fixed
𝑟,Ƹ 𝜃,
y
 r
𝑟,Ƹ 𝜃መ and 𝒛ො are perpendicular to surfaces 𝒓 = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕;
y=rsin 𝜽 = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 and 𝒛 = 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕, respectively.

𝒓ො
x ෡ = 𝒛ො ; 𝜽
𝒓ො × 𝜽 ෡ × 𝒛ො = 𝒓ො ; 𝒛ො × 𝒓ො = 𝜽
෡
𝒛ො
෡
𝜽
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [7]

Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Newton’s law in

cylindrical coordinate system
Vector components are very similar to polar coordinate + 𝑧 component

Position vector 𝑟Ԧ = 𝑟𝑟Ƹ + 𝒛ො𝒛

𝑑ො𝒛
=0
Velocity 𝑣Ԧ = 𝑟ሶ 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑟𝜃ሶ 𝜃መ + 𝒛ො
ሶ𝒛 𝑑𝑡

Acceleration Ԧ 𝑟ሷ − 𝑟𝜃ሶ 2 )𝑟Ƹ + (2𝑟ሶ 𝜃ሶ + 𝑟𝜃ሷ )𝜃መ + 𝒛ො

𝑎=( ሷ𝒛

Newton’s law 𝐹Ԧ = 𝐹𝑟 𝑟Ƹ + 𝐹𝜃 𝜃መ + 𝑭𝒛 𝒛ො
= 𝑚 𝑟ሷ − 𝑟𝜃ሶ 2 𝑟Ƹ + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜃ሶ + 𝑟𝜃ሷ 𝜃መ + 𝒛ො
ሷ𝒛
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [8]

Spherical polar coordinate

PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [9]

Spherical polar coordinate system

z
𝒓 → Radial distance from origin
𝜽 → Angle with 𝑧-axis.
𝑷 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛
rsin
𝝋 → Angle between x-axis and
rcos

rcos the projection of radial vector in

𝒓 xy plane
𝜽
𝒓, 𝜽, 𝝋 is known as
spherical polar coordinate

𝜑 y
Be careful, notations are different.
𝒓 and 𝜽 are not planer coordinate.
x
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [10]

Spherical polar coordinate system

𝒁
Note that point (𝑟, 𝜃, 𝜑) is at the
intersection of three surfaces:
The surface with 𝒓 =Constant; Sphere

Surface with 𝜽 = Constant; Cone

(𝒓, 𝜽, 𝝋)
𝜽
𝒓 Surface 𝝋 = Constant. Plane containing Z-
𝒀
axis

𝑿
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [11]

Spherical polar coordinate system

So the point (𝑟, 𝜃, 𝜑) is at the intersection of three surfaces:

(𝒓, 𝜽, 𝝋)
𝜽 (𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛)
𝒓
𝝋 𝒀

𝑿
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [12]

Spherical polar coordinate system

z Transformation relations
𝒙 = 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝝋
𝒚 = 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝝋
𝑷 𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛 𝒛 = 𝒓 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽
rcos

Hence
𝟏ൗ
𝒓 𝒓= 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 + 𝒛𝟐 𝟐
𝟏ൗ
𝜽 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 𝟐
𝜽= 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝒛
𝒚
y 𝝋 = 𝐭𝐚𝐧−𝟏
𝜑 𝒙

Position vector in terms of 𝒙, 𝒚 and 𝒛

x components

𝑟Ԧ = 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝝋 𝑥ො + 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝝋 𝑦ො + 𝒓 𝐜𝐨𝐬 𝜽 𝑧Ƹ

PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [13]

Unit vectors: Spherical polar coordinate system

𝒁 Position vector
𝑟Ԧ = 𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + 𝑟 cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
Ԧ
𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝑟 Ԧ
𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝜃 Ԧ
𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝜑
Unit vectors: 𝑟Ƹ = Ԧ
, 𝜃መ = Ԧ
, 𝜑ො = Ԧ
𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝑟 𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝑟/𝜕𝜑

𝑟Ƹ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ

𝜽 (𝒙, 𝒚, 𝒛) 𝜃መ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − sin 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ

𝒓
𝝋 𝒀 𝜑ො = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො

መ and 𝜑ො are perpendicular to 𝑟 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡,

𝑟,Ƹ 𝜃,
𝜃 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡, 𝜑 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡.
𝑿
𝒓ො
We can also get the unit vectors
ෝ
𝝋 ෡×𝝋
𝒓ො = 𝜽 ෝ; 𝜽෡=𝝋 ෝ × 𝒓ො ; 𝝋 ෡
ෝ = 𝒓ො × 𝜽
෡
𝜽
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [14]

Unit vectors Spherical coordinate & Partial derivatives

Unit vectors in spherical 𝑟Ƹ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
polar coordinate are 𝜃መ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − sin 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
function of 𝜽 and 𝝋 only. 𝜑ො = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො
Thus, 𝜕 𝑟Ƹ 𝜕
𝝏ො𝒓 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
=𝟎 𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜃
𝝏𝒓 𝜕 𝑟Ƹ
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ = 𝜃መ
𝜕𝜃
𝜕𝑟Ƹ 𝜕
= 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
𝜕𝜑 𝜕𝜑
𝜕𝑟Ƹ
= − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො + 0 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝜑ො
𝜕𝜑

෡
𝝏𝜽 𝜕𝜃መ 𝜕
=𝟎 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
𝝏𝒓 𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜃
𝜕𝜃መ
= − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ = −𝑟Ƹ
𝜕𝜃
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [15]

Unit vectors Spherical coordinate & Partial derivatives

Unit vectors in spherical 𝑟Ƹ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
polar coordinate are 𝜃መ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − sin 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
function of 𝜽 and 𝝋 only. 𝜑ො = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො
𝜕 𝜃መ 𝜕
= 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − 𝑧Ƹ 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃
𝜕𝜑 𝜕𝜑
𝜕𝜃መ
= − 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 cos 𝜑 𝑦
ෝ − 0 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝜑
ෝ
𝜕𝜑
𝝏ෝ
𝝋 𝜕𝜑ො 𝜕
=𝟎 = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො = 0
𝝏𝒓 𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜃
𝜕𝜑ො 𝜕
= − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො
𝜕𝜑 𝜕𝜑
𝜕𝜑ො
= − cos 𝜑 𝑥ො − sin 𝜑 𝑦ො = − cos 𝜑 𝑥ො + sin 𝜑 𝑦ො
𝜕𝜑
𝜕𝜑ො
= − 𝑟Ƹ sin 𝜃 + 𝜃መ cos 𝜃
𝜕𝜑
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [17]

Unit vectors Spherical coordinate & Partial derivatives

Unit vectors in spherical 𝑟Ƹ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
polar coordinate are 𝜃መ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − sin 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
function of 𝜽 and 𝝋 only. 𝜑ො = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො
𝝏ො𝒓 𝜕 𝑟Ƹ 𝜕 𝑟Ƹ Z
=𝟎 = 𝜃መ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝜑ො
𝝏𝒓 𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜑 𝑟Ƹ
෡
𝝏𝜽 𝜕𝜃መ
=𝟎 = −𝑟Ƹ 𝜕𝜃መ 𝜃 90 − 𝜃
𝝏𝒓 𝜕𝜃 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝜑ො
𝜕𝜑 𝜃
𝜃መ
𝝏ෝ
𝝋 𝜕𝜑ො 𝜕𝜑ො A line in XY plane at
=𝟎 =0 = − 𝑟Ƹ sin 𝜃 + 𝜃መ cos 𝜃 angle 𝜑 with x-axis
𝝏𝒓 𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜑

−𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො = 𝜑ො

𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝜃መ

𝑥ො = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝜃መ − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝜑ො
𝑦ො = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝜃መ + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝜑ො
𝑧Ƹ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑟Ƹ − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝜃መ
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [18]

Velocity in Spherical coordinate

𝑟Ƹ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො + cos 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
𝑑 𝑟Ԧ 𝑑
𝑣Ԧ = = 𝑟𝑟Ƹ 𝜃መ = 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑦ො − sin 𝜃 𝑧Ƹ
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
𝜑ො = − 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜑 𝑥ො + 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜑 𝑦ො
𝑑𝑟 𝑑 𝑟Ƹ
= 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑟 𝜕𝑟Ƹ 𝜕𝑟Ƹ
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝜃መ = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 𝜑ො
𝜕𝜃 𝜕𝜑
𝜕𝑟Ƹ 𝑑𝜃 𝜕𝑟Ƹ 𝑑𝜑
= 𝑟ሶ 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑟 + Chain rule
𝜕𝜃 𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝜑 𝑑𝑡

𝑣Ԧ = 𝑟ሶ 𝑟Ƹ + 𝑟 𝜃ሶ 𝜃መ + sin 𝜃𝜑ሶ 𝜑ො

ሶ 𝒓 + 𝒓𝜽ሶ 𝜽
𝒗 = 𝒓ො ෡ + 𝒓 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝜽𝝋ሶ 𝝋
ෝ
You need to try this out?
Can you obtain Acceleration??
𝑎Ԧ
= 𝑟ሷ − 𝑟𝜃ሶ 2 − 𝑟𝜑ሶ 2 𝑠𝑖𝑛2 𝜃 𝑟Ƹ + (𝑟𝜃ሷ + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜃ሶ
− 𝑟𝜑ሶ 2 sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃)𝜃መ + 𝑟𝜑ሷ sin 𝜃 + 2𝑟𝜃ሶ 𝜑ሶ cos 𝜃 + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜑ሶ sin 𝜃 𝜑ො
PH 101: PHYSICS 1 Lecture 03 [19]

Velocity in Spherical coordinate

𝑎Ԧ
= 𝑟ሷ − 𝑟𝜃ሶ 2 − 𝑟𝜑ሶ 2 sin2 𝜃 𝑟Ƹ + (𝑟𝜃ሷ + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜃ሶ
− 𝑟𝜑ሶ 2 sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃)𝜃መ + 𝑟𝜑ሷ sin 𝜃 + 2𝑟𝜃ሶ 𝜑ሶ cos 𝜃 + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜑ሶ sin 𝜃 𝜑ො

𝑎𝑟 = 𝑟ሷ − 𝑟𝜃ሶ 2 − 𝑟sin𝜃𝜑ሶ 2 sin𝜃 Z

𝑟Ƹ
Centripetal part due to angular motion Centripetal part due to angular
in a plane containing Z- axis motion in xy plane
𝜃 90 − 𝜃
𝜃 A line in XY plane
𝑎𝜃 = (𝑟𝜃ሷ + 2𝑟ሶ 𝜃ሶ − 𝑟sin𝜃𝜑ሶ 2 cos𝜃) መ
𝜃 at angle 𝜑 with x-
axis
Coriolis part due to angular motion Centripetal part due to angular
in a plane containing Z- axis motion in xy plane

ሶ
𝑎 φ = 𝑟𝜑ሷ sin 𝜃 + 2𝑟𝜃𝑐𝑜𝑠θ 𝜑ሶ + 2𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑛θ
ሶ 𝜑ሶ

Coriolis part due to angular

motion in xy plane