POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.general : Radial coordinates in POV : Radial coordinates in POV Server Time
4 Aug 2024 12:19:18 EDT (-0400)
  Radial coordinates in POV  
From: Ed Jackson
Date: 18 May 2003 01:57:51
Message: <pan.2003.05.18.05.57.47.250837.2858@iastate.edu>
Hi all,

I was just messing around with media densities using various probability
densities for the electron in a hydrogen atom.  These things are usually
done in radial coordinates because the math is simpler.

The conversion from cartesian to radial coordiates is simple enough, and
functions.inc even includes f_r, f_th, and f_ph to help--which leads me to
my question.

From my experience in physics, it is conventional to define theta as the
angle from the vertical axis (latitude, ranging from zero at the north
pole to pi at the south pole), and phi as the longitudinal angle (ranging
from zero to 2*pi).

POV, it seems, defines these in the opposite manner.  I was hoping that
someone in the know could tell me whether this is a mistake, or if the
convention is simply less well-defined than I believed.  After all, we
usually use z-up cartesian coordinates in physics, too.  :)

Anyway, I'm just curious...if it really bothered me, I'd just define my
own conversion functions.

	Thanks,
	 Ed


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