Talk:Cartesian coordinate system

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    [edit] The 3rd dimension

    I think this page doesn't talk about the third dimension (i.e. 'z') nearly enough. Just because co-ordinates are cartesian, doesn't mean they are 2-dimensional. 3-dimensional co-ordinates are usually expressed as cartesian co-ordinates as well, and it seems that this has been included into this article merely as an afterthought.

    You are correct in that the 3d aspect of CCS is an afterthought. I spent a _long_ time trying to add information that wasn't so "common". In short, I ran out of time. The problem is when you add more information on this you are moving away from originator of the idea; too, you would probably have to discuss the properties in a 3d system that are different in a 2d system. For instance, slope in a 3d system makes little sense.

    I thought it would be an easy article, but actually I need to upload some pictures, that's the only really clear way to explain it (and that ASCII picture is atrocious). I add more later; thanks for the input. Feel free to add :)

    Let me know if this is more fully fleshed-out.

    Thank you for your valuable input. Adamcscott

    Should mention be made of the name of the z-coordinate? I believe it is "applicate" in english.

    image:cartesiancoordinates3D.JPG

    Someone made these images. If you want to use them you may have to re-upload them with the extension changed to .jpg. (The wiki software doesn't seem to recognise uppercase .JPG as something that should be an inline image.) --Zundark, 2002 Jan 11

    1)If you want the images to display in the article itself, you should upload them to http://meta.wikipedia.com

    and then use the URL of the page in the meta where the image is displayed. 2). Before you mark off, say x units on the x axis, you have to "choose" a "unit" length. RoseParks----

    [edit] Z-axis not until 19th century?

    Sometime in the early 19th century the third dimension of measurement was added, using the z axis.

    Was it really that late? Euler didn't think of it? Gauss was already 45 when the 19th started. AxelBoldt 03:09 Jan 23, 2003 (UTC)

    I removed this statement. It can go back if someone finds a reference for it. Withour reference it doesn't have any credibility. --345Kai 07:49, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

    This might be trivial. But the red point is NOT at (-5, -5, 10) but at (-5, 0, 10), or (-5, -5, 12.x).

    I fixed that, now it is. I hope I've drawn it somewhat intuitive. (In the process I unfortunately created a second image of the same name but with the extension "jpg" (lowercase). Does someone have the rights to erase that?). DrZ 15:59, 20 Feb 2004 (UTC)

    [edit] Two-dimensional

    I suggest using "two-dimensional" instead of "two dimensional".

    [edit] Merge

    Well, I took initiative, I was bold, and the page is now being merged with Point plotting (don't bother goin there, I redirected it here). HereToHelp 21:15, 20 August 2005 (UTC)

    [edit] who invented the number line?

    I would be really interested in knowing the origins of the idea of the number line. This is also very relevant to the article.

    [edit] Image:Coor planes Color.png

    Added this image to replace the old one. The old one had two major problems:

    1. It was a jpg
    2. It was not well lined up, some supposedly parallel lines were not

    The new one might be better as a pure black and white, and you may want to add dotted guide lines like the old one, but I do think it's a step in the right direction. --Falcorian (talk) 05:11, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

    Thanks, it's much better than the last one. The colors are ok, I think (…maybe the green could be a bit darker?). Perhaps you could provide a vectorized(SVG) version, or was it created as a bitmap? –Gustavb 17:39, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
    I can definately change the color. It was created as a bitmap, and I've never worked with SVG... But the medium seems to offer so much that I think I must try it. --Falcorian (talk) 23:54, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
    Yes, it's really worth the effort to give a try. Inkscape is probably the best (open) SVG editor… –Gustavb 07:56, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Orientation and "handedness"

    If the forefinger of the right hand is pointed forward, the middle finger bent inward at a right angle to it, and the thumb placed a right angle to both, the three fingers indicate the relative directions of the z-, x-, and y-axes respectively in a right-handed system.

    I edited this to correctly reflect which axis is which, but the image is wrong. The z-axis is the "new" axis and so goes "into" the page when added to a 2D coordinate system. In a left-handed system the z-axis is positive away from viewer, "into" the page, and in a right-handed system it is positive towards the viewer, "out of" the page. Since I don't have a clue how to edit those images, can someone else do it? Also, the image shows a rotation that seems meaningless. Positive rotation about an axis is always anticlockwise when looking at the origin from that positive axis. Apologies if I have misinterpreted the image. kthx, Al

    rewrote this section. Is hopefully fixed now, but could use a lot of improvement, still. --345Kai 07:49, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] in physics

    It is important to note that a dimension is simply a measure of something, and that, for each class of features to be measured, another dimension can be added. Attachment to visualizing the dimensions precludes understanding the many different dimensions that can be measured (time, mass, color, cost, etc.). It is the powerful insight of Descartes that allows us to manipulate multi-dimensional objects algebraically, dispensing with physical tools.

    The above paragraph didn't make sense in the section it was in, so I put it in its own section, which needs to be further fleshed out. --345Kai 07:49, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

    It is not clear to me what the author wanted to say with this that also belongs into an article about Cartesian coordinates. Based on 345Kai's comment from over a year ago, I suggest removing the paragraph "In Physics" from the article and also remove the related paragraph from this discussion. --[] 8 May 2007

    [edit] Axonometric projection

    Can the cartesian coordinate system be considered a space for displaying points in a axonometric projection? --Abdull 21:02, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Cartesian Plane

    I think cartesian plane should redirect to an independant article or a section should be added to this article specifically about the cartesian plane as there is no formal reference to it yet all articles on the cartesian plane redirect to here. --Twistie.man 11:31, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

    [edit] Vector Representation

    I added a short section describing the representation of a point in Cartesian coordinates by a position vector. Alden Jurling 06:29, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] y axis

    isn't the positive y-axis up? K25125 22:32, 26 May 2007 (UTC)


    [edit] Correct name of axes

    in the article you can read "the x-axis or abscissa and the y-axis or ordinate"

    This is wrong, those axes are USUALLY named that but that is not the reference name of the axes, the correct names are abscissas´ axis and ordinates' axis and you can name them whatever you want please specify this.

    189.169.2.238 23:55, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] History of x, y and z designation

    Any one know who chose the letters x, y and z? --catslash 10:53, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

    [edit] z-name

    As x-axis coordinate is called abscissa, and y-axis one ordinate, what's the English name of the z-axis coordinate? In Portuguese and Spanish and maybe the other Romance languages is "cota" (abscissa, ordenada, cota, from Latin), but I don't know the English name. Cotation? Height?212.51.52.5 (talk) 00:47, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] Right-handed vs left-handed coordinate systems

    "Different disciplines use different variations of the coordinate systems. For example, mathematicians typically use a right-handed coordinate system with the y-axis pointing up, while engineers typically use a left-handed coordinate system with the z-axis pointing up. This has the potential to lead to confusion when engineers and mathematicians work on the same project."

    I am an engineer and I have never used a left-handed coordinate system. A left-handed system is a tool of the Devil. Would you please cite a few sources to justify your point. --xerm (talk) 18:11, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

    I also have never experienced this notion that engineers "typically" use a left-handed coordinate system. However, in the special case of computer programming, a left-handed system is often used when drawing 2-D graphics on the screen, reflecting the preference for left-to-right and top-to-bottom movement around the screen: the origin is often the top left, with x positive to the right, and y positive going down.

    In general it is probably better to rephrase this to talk about the problem domain in which a system is used, rather than what certain people do, since people do different things in different situations (i.e. engineers and mathematicians would both use the coordinate system needed by the software when they are drawing 2-D screen graphics). Agenteightysix (talk) 22:58, 23 February 2008 (UTC)

    I've never come across a left-handed coordinate system in the field of engineering. In the absence of a citation I'm going to remove this statement. Incidentally, I'd say it's not uncommon to have x and y axes pointing to the right and upward respectively (as in 2D), with the z-axis 'coming out of the page' - but this is still right-handed. --catslash (talk) 21:12, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

    [edit] 2d Right Hand Rule ambiguous

    The text currently in concern is: "Placing a somewhat closed right hand on the plane with the thumb pointing up, the fingers point from the x-axis to the y-axis, in a positively oriented coordinate system". This text is ambiguous, because a "somewhat closed" hand is not defined, and I am not able to reproduce the positive x,y orientation using this. It's also unclear what axis the thumb is aligned to. A picture might be helpful, but this article has enough pictures already. IsmAvatar (talk) 00:05, 28 February 2008 (UTC)