A sphere

rotating about an
axis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A rotation is a circular movement of an object around a center (or point) of rotation. A
three-dimensional object always rotates around an imaginary line called a rotation axis. If
the axis passes through the body's center of mass, the body is said to rotate upon itself, or
spin. A rotation about an external point, e.g. the Earth about the Sun, is called a revolution
or orbital revolution, typically when it is produced by gravity.
1 Mathematics
2 Astronomy
2.1 Rotation and revolution
2.2 Retrograde rotation
3 Physics
3.1 Euler rotations
4 Flight dynamics
5 Amusement rides
6 Sports
7 See also
8 References
9 External links
Mathematically, a rotation is a rigid body movement which, unlike a translation, keeps a point fixed. This
definition applies to rotations within both two and three dimensions (in a plane and in space, respectively.)
All rigid body movements are rotations, translations, or combinations of the two.
A rotation is simply a progressive radial orientation to a common point. That common point lies within the axis
of that motion. The axis is 90 degrees perpendicular to the plane of the motion. If the axis of the rotation lies
external of the body in question then the body is said to orbit. There is no fundamental difference between a
rotation and an orbit and or "spin". The key distinction is simply where the axis of the rotation lies, either
within or outside of a body in question. This distinction can be demonstrated for both rigid and non rigid
bodies.
If a rotation around a point or axis is followed by a second rotation around the same point/axis, a third rotation
results. The reverse (inverse) of a rotation is also a rotation. Thus, the rotations around a point/axis form a
group. However, a rotation around a point or axis and a rotation around a different point/axis may result in
something other than a rotation, e.g. a translation.
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Rotation of a planar figure around a
point
Rotational Orbit v Spin
Relations between rotation axis, plane
of orbit and axial tilt (for Earth).
Rotations around the x, y and z axes are called principal rotations.
Rotation around any axis can be performed by taking a rotation around
the x axis, followed by a rotation around the y axis, and followed by a
rotation around the z axis. That is to say, any spatial rotation can be
decomposed into a combination of principal rotations.
In flight dynamics, the principal rotations are known as yaw, pitch, and
roll (known as Tait-Bryan angles). This terminology is also used in
computer graphics.
In astronomy, rotation is a commonly observed phenomenon. Stars,
planets and similar bodies all spin around on their axis. The rotation rate
of planets in the solar system was first measured by tracking visual
features. Stellar rotation is measured through Doppler shift or by
tracking active surface features.
This rotation induces a centrifugal acceleration in the reference frame of
the Earth which slightly counteracts the effect of gravity the closer one is
to the equator. One effect is that an object weighs slightly less at the
equator. Another is that the Earth is slightly deformed into an oblate
spheroid.
Another consequence of the rotation of a planet is the phenomenon of
precession. Like a gyroscope, the overall effect is a slight "wobble" in
the movement of the axis of a planet. Currently the tilt of the Earth's axis
to its orbital plane (obliquity of the ecliptic) is 23.44 degrees, but this
angle changes slowly (over thousands of years). (See also Precession of
the equinoxes and Pole star.)
Rotation and revolution
While revolution is often used as a synonym for rotation, in many fields,
particularly astronomy and related fields, revolution, often referred to as
orbital revolution for clarity, is used when one body moves around
another while rotation is used to mean the movement around an axis.
Moons revolve around their planet, planets revolve about their star (such
as the Earth around the Sun); and stars slowly revolve about their
galaxial center. The motion of the components of galaxies is complex,
but it usually includes a rotation component.
Retrograde rotation
Most planets in our solar system, including Earth, spin in the same direction as they orbit the Sun. The
exceptions are Venus and Uranus. Uranus rotates nearly on its side relative to its orbit. Current speculation is
that Uranus started off with a typical prograde orientation and was knocked on its side by a large impact early in
its history. Venus may be thought of as rotating slowly backwards (or being "upside down"). The dwarf planet
Pluto (formerly considered a planet) is anomalous in this and other ways.
Rotation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation
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Star trails caused by the Earth's
rotation during the camera's long
exposure time.
[1]
Euler rotations of the Earth.
Intrinsic (green), Precession
(blue) and Nutation (red)
The principal axes of rotation in
space
The speed of rotation is given by the angular frequency (rad/s) or
frequency (turn/s, turns per minute), or period (seconds, days, etc.). The
time-rate of change of angular frequency is angular acceleration (rad/s),
This change is caused by torque. The ratio of the two (how heavy is it to
start, stop, or otherwise change rotation) is given by the moment of
inertia.
The angular velocity vector (an axial vector) also describes the direction
of the axis of rotation. Similarly the torque is an axial vector.
The physics of the rotation around a fixed axis is mathematically
described with the axisangle representation of rotations. According to the right-hand rule, the direction away
from the observer is associated with clockwise rotation and the direction towards the observer with
counterclockwise rotation, like a screw.
Euler rotations
Euler rotations provide an alternative description of a rotation. It is a
composition of three rotations defined as the movement obtained by changing
one of the Euler angles while leaving the other two constant. Euler rotations are
never expressed in terms of the external frame, or in terms of the co-moving
rotated body frame, but in a mixture. They constitute a mixed axes of rotation
system, where the first angle moves the line of nodes around the external axis z,
the second rotates around the line of nodes and the third one is an intrinsic
rotation around an axis fixed in the body that moves.
These rotations are called precession, nutation, and intrinsic rotation.
In flight dynamics, the principal rotations
described with Euler angles above are
known as pitch, roll and yaw. The term
rotation is also used in aviation to refer to the upward pitch (nose moves
up) of an aircraft, particularly when starting the climb after takeoff.
Principal rotations have the advantage of modelling a number of
physical systems such as gimbals, and joysticks, so are easily visualised,
and are a very compact way of storing a rotation. But they are difficult to
use in calculations as even simple operations like combining rotations
are expensive to do, and suffer from a form of gimbal lock where the
angles cannot be uniquely calculated for certain rotations.
Many amusement rides provide rotation. A Ferris wheel has a horizontal central axis, and parallel axes for each
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gondola, where the rotation is opposite, by gravity or mechanically. As a result at any time the orientation of the
gondola is upright (not rotated), just translated. The tip of the translation vector describes a circle. A carousel
provides rotation about a vertical axis. Many rides provide a combination of rotations about several axes. In
Chair-O-Planes the rotation about the vertical axis is provided mechanically, while the rotation about the
horizontal axis is due to the centripetal force. In roller coaster inversions the rotation about the horizontal axis is
one or more full cycles, where inertia keeps people in their seats.
Rotation, usually called spin, plays a role in many sports. Topspin and backspin in tennis. English, follow and
draw in billiards and pool. Curve balls in baseball and spin bowling in cricket. Table tennis paddles are
specialized to allow players to spin the ball as they hit.
Absolute rotation
Balancing machine
Mach's principle
Rotating locomotion in living systems
Rotation formalisms in three dimensions
Truck bolster
Rotation around a fixed axis
Attitude (geometry)
Circular motion
^ "An Oasis, or a Secret Lair?" (http://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1340a/). ESO Picture of the Week. Retrieved
8 October 2013.
1.
Product of Rotations (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/RotationTransform.shtml) at
cut-the-knot. cut-the-knot.org
When a Triangle is Equilateral (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/Connes.shtml) at
cut-the-knot. cut-the-knot.org
Rotate Points Using Polar Coordinates (http://howtoproperly.com/rotate-points-using-polar-coordinates),
howtoproperly.com
Rotation in Two Dimensions (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/RotationInTwoDimensions/) by Sergio
Hannibal Mejia after work by Roger Germundsson and Understanding 3D Rotation
(http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/Understanding3DRotation/) by Roger Germundsson, Wolfram
Rotation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotation
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Demonstrations Project. demonstrations.wolfram.com
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rotation&oldid=618401424"
Categories: Euclidean geometry Classical mechanics Orientation Rotation Kinematics
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