Cylindrical Coordinates

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Cylindrical Coordinates

A system of curvilinear coordinates in which the position of a point in space is determined by (a) its perpendicular distance from a given line, (b) its distance from a selected reference plane perpendicular to this line, and (c) its angular distance from a selected reference line when projected onto this plane. The coordinates thus form the elements of a cylinder, and, in the usual notation, are written, r, Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/thetasm.gif", and z where r is the radial distance from the cylinder's axis z, and Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/thetasm.gif" is the angular position from a reference line in a cylindrical cross section normal to z. Also called cylindrical polar coordinates, circular cylindrical coordinates. See polar coordinates.
The relations between the cylindrical coordinates and the rectangular Cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) are x = r cos Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/thetasm.gif", y = r sin Missing Image:IMG src="c_files/thetasm.gif"', z = z.

References

This article is based on NASA's Dictionary of Technical Terms for Aerospace Use