Vectors

VECTOR

 

Position (vector)

In geometry, a position, location, or radius vector, usually denoted , is a vector which represents the position of a point P in space in relation to an arbitrary reference origin O. It corresponds to the displacement from O to P:

Applications

• In linear algebra, a position vector can be expressed as a linear combination of basis vectors.

• The kinematic movement of a point mass can be described by a vector-valued function giving the position as a function of the scalar time parameter t. These are used in mechanics and dynamics to keep track of the positions of particles, point masses, or rigid objects.

• In differential geometry, position vector fields are used to describe continuous and differentiable space curves, in which case the independent parameter needs not be time, but can be (e.g.) arc length of the curve.