Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinate Systems A
Orthogonal Curvilinear Coordinate Systems A A-l Curvilinear Coordinates The location of a point in three-dimensional space (with respect to some origin) is usually specified by giving its three cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) or, what is equivalent, by specifying the position vector R of the point. It is often more convenient to describe the position of the point by another set of coordinates more appropriate to the problem at hand, common examples being spherical and cylindrical coordinates. ,These are but special cases of curvilinear coordinate systems, whose general properties we propose to ex amine in detail. Suppose that ql> q2> and qa are independent functions of position such that ql = ql (x, y, z), q2 = q2(X, y, z), qa = qa(x, y, z) (A-1.l) or, in terms of the position vector, qk = qk(R) (k = 1,2,3) In regions where the Jacobian determinant, oql oql oql ox oy oz o(ql> q2' qa) = Oq2 Oq2 ~ (A-1.2) o(x,y, z) ox oy oz oqa oqa oqa ox oy oz 474 Orthogonol Curvilinear Coordinate Systems 475 is different from zero this system of equations can be solved simultaneously for x, y, and z, giving y = y(qj, q2, q3), or R = R(qj, q2' q3) A vanishing of the Jacobian implies that qj, q2' and q3 are not independent functions but, rather, are connected by a functional relationship of the form f(qj, q2, q3) = O. In accordance with (A-I.3), the specification of numerical values for qj, q2, and q3 leads to a corresponding set of numerical values for x, y, z; that is, it locates a point (x, y, z) in space.
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