Talk:Intrinsic coordinates

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You have new messages (last change).

The formulae look a bit messy - instead of using the square root cubed, would it be better to go for a single exponent of 3/2? - Drw25 14:43, 20 Feb 2005 (UTC)

  • Yeah, I tried to do that but I couldn't get LaTeX to do it... LukeSurl 21:57, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)
    • Sorted. If you want a power consisting of more than one character, you have to enclose the power in braces: { }. Hammerite

I changed uppercase psi to lowercase psi because I'm pretty sure it is the standard notation. 82.32.8.175 19:54, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Not a true coordinate system?

Generally, a coordinate system is a means by which an arbitrary point in the plane or space can be identified. This isn't true of intrinsic coordinates: points outside of the curve have no (s, ψ) coordinates, and different intrinsic equations can lead to the same (s, ψ) being in completely different places relative to the s = 0 point.

This doesn't seem to make sense: "it may break down entirely when straight lines are considered". This is no more true than it is that Cartesian coordinates may break down when you consider vertical lines. Just as a vertical line in Cartesian coordinates is x = k, so a straight line in intrinsic coordinates is ψ = k.

Moreover, why s = f(ψ)? ψ = f(s) is much more general. -- Smjg 15:59, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

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