Angular displacement

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Rotation of a rigid body P about a fixed axis O.

Angular displacement of a body is the angle in radians (degrees, revolutions)
through which a point revolves around a centre or line has been rotated in a
specified sense about a specified axis. When a body rotates about its axis, the
motion cannot simply be analyzed as a particle, as in circular motion it undergoes
a changing velocity and acceleration at any time (t). When dealing with the
rotation of a body, it becomes simpler to consider the body itself rigid. A body is
generally considered rigid when the separations between all the particles remains
constant throughout the body's motion, so for example parts of its mass are not
flying off. In a realistic sense, all things can be deformable, however this impact
is minimal and negligible. Thus the rotation of a rigid body over a fixed axis is
referred to as rotational motion.

Contents
1 Example
2 Measurements
3 Three dimensions
3.1 Matrix notation
4 Infinitesimal rotation matrices
4.1 Generators of rotations
4.2 Relationship with Lie algebras
4.3 Exponential map
5 See also
6 References
Example
In the example illustrated to the right (or above in some mobile versions), a
particle or body P is at a fixed distance r from the origin, O, rotating
counterclockwise. It becomes important to then represent the position of particle P
in terms of its polar coordinates (r, ?). In this particular example, the value
of ? is changing, while the value of the radius remains the same. (In rectangular
coordinates (x, y) both x and y vary with time). As the particle moves along the
circle, it travels an arc length s, which becomes related to the angular position
through the relationship:-

{\displaystyle s=r\theta \,}{\displaystyle s=r\theta \,}

Measurements
Angular displacement may be measured in radians or degrees. Using radians provides
a very simple relationship between distance traveled around the circle and the
distance r from the centre.

{\displaystyle \theta ={\frac {s}{r}}}{\displaystyle \theta ={\frac {s}{r}}}

For example, if a body rotates 360� around a circle of radius r, the angular
displacement is given by the distance traveled around the circumference - which is
2pr - divided by the radius: {\displaystyle \theta ={\frac {2\pi r}{r}}}\theta
={\frac {2\pi r}r} which easily simplifies to: {\displaystyle \theta =2\pi }\theta
=2\pi . Therefore, 1 revolution is {\displaystyle 2\pi }2\pi radians.

When a particle travels from point P to point Q over {\displaystyle \delta t}\delta
t, as it does in the illustration to the left, the radius of the circle goes
through a change in angle {\displaystyle \Delta \theta =\theta _{2}-\theta _{1}}
{\displaystyle \Delta \theta =\theta _{2}-\theta _{1}} which equals the angular
displacement.

Three dimensions

Figure 1: Euler's rotation theorem. A great circle transforms to another great

circle under rotations, leaving always a diameter of the sphere in its original
position.

Figure 2: A rotation represented by an Euler axis and angle.

In three dimensions, angular displacement is an entity with a direction and a
magnitude. The direction specifies the axis of rotation, which always exists by
virtue of the Euler's rotation theorem; the magnitude specifies the rotation in
radians about that axis (using the right-hand rule to determine direction). This
entity is called an axis-angle.

Despite having direction and magnitude, angular displacement is not a vector

because it does not obey the commutative law for addition.[1] Nevertheless, when
dealing with infinitesimal rotations, second order infinitesimals can be discarded
and in this case commutativity appears.

Several ways to describe angular displacement exist, like rotation matrices or

Euler angles. See charts on SO(3) for others.

Matrix notation
Given that any frame in the space can be described by a rotation matrix, the
displacement among them can also be described by a rotation matrix. Being
{\displaystyle A_{0}}A_{0} and {\displaystyle A_{f}}A_f two matrices, the angular
displacement matrix between them can be obtained as {\displaystyle \Delta
A=A_{f}.A_{0}^{-1}}{\displaystyle \Delta A=A_{f}.A_{0}^{-1}}. When this product is
performed having a very small difference between both frames we will obtain a
matrix close to the identity.

In the limit, we will have an infinitesimal rotation matrix.

Infinitesimal rotation matrices

Further information: Generators of rotations, Infinitesimal rotations,
Infinitesimal rotation tensor, and Rotation group SO(3) � Infinitesimal rotations
An infinitesimal angular displacement is an infinitesimal rotation matrix:

As any rotation matrix has a single real eigenvalue, which is +1, this eigenvalue
shows the rotation axis.
Its module can be deduced from the value of the infinitesimal rotation.
The shape of the matrix is like this:
{\displaystyle A={\begin{pmatrix}1&-d\phi _{z}(t)&d\phi _{y}(t)\\d\phi _{z}(t)&1&-
d\phi _{x}(t)\\-d\phi _{y}(t)&d\phi _{x}(t)&1\\\end{pmatrix}}}{\displaystyle
A={\begin{pmatrix}1&-d\phi _{z}(t)&d\phi _{y}(t)\\d\phi _{z}(t)&1&-d\phi _{x}(t)\\-
d\phi _{y}(t)&d\phi _{x}(t)&1\\\end{pmatrix}}}
We can introduce here the infinitesimal angular displacement tensor or rotation
generator associated:

{\displaystyle d\Phi (t)={\begin{pmatrix}0&-d\phi _{z}(t)&d\phi _{y}(t)\\d\phi _{z}

(t)&0&-d\phi _{x}(t)\\-d\phi _{y}(t)&d\phi _{x}(t)&0\\\end{pmatrix}}}{\displaystyle
d\Phi (t)={\begin{pmatrix}0&-d\phi _{z}(t)&d\phi _{y}(t)\\d\phi _{z}(t)&0&-d\phi
_{x}(t)\\-d\phi _{y}(t)&d\phi _{x}(t)&0\\\end{pmatrix}}}
Such that its associated rotation matrix is {\displaystyle A=I+d\Phi (t)}
{\displaystyle A=I+d\Phi (t)}. When it is divided by the time, this will yield the
angular velocity vector.

Generators of rotations
Main articles: Rotation matrix, Rotation group SO(3), and Infinitesimal
transformation
Suppose we specify an axis of rotation by a unit vector [x, y, z] , and suppose we
have an infinitely small rotation of angle ?? about that vector. Expanding the
rotation matrix as an infinite addition, and taking the first order approach, the
rotation matrix ?R is represented as:

{\displaystyle \Delta R={\begin{bmatrix}1&0&0\\0&1&0\\0&0&1\end{bmatrix}}+

{\begin{bmatrix}0&z&-y\\-z&0&x\\y&-x&0\end{bmatrix}}\,\Delta \theta =\mathbf {I}
+\mathbf {A} \,\Delta \theta .}{\displaystyle \Delta
R={\begin{bmatrix}1&0&0\\0&1&0\\0&0&1\end{bmatrix}}+{\begin{bmatrix}0&z&-y\\-
z&0&x\\y&-x&0\end{bmatrix}}\,\Delta \theta =\mathbf {I} +\mathbf {A} \,\Delta
\theta .}
A finite rotation through angle ? about this axis may be seen as a succession of
small rotations about the same axis. Approximating ?? as ?/N where N is a large
number, a rotation of ? about the axis may be represented as:

{\displaystyle R=\left(\mathbf {1} +{\frac {\mathbf {A} \theta }

{N}}\right)^{N}\approx e^{\mathbf {A} \theta }.}{\displaystyle R=\left(\mathbf {1}
+{\frac {\mathbf {A} \theta }{N}}\right)^{N}\approx e^{\mathbf {A} \theta }.}
It can be seen that Euler's theorem essentially states that all rotations may be
represented in this form. The product {\displaystyle \mathbf {A}
\theta }\mathbf{A}\theta is the "generator" of the particular rotation, being the
vector (x,y,z) associated with the matrix A. This shows that the rotation matrix
and the axis-angle format are related by the exponential function.

One can derive a simple expression for the generator G. One starts with an
arbitrary plane[2] defined by a pair of perpendicular unit vectors a and b. In this
plane one can choose an arbitrary vector x with perpendicular y. One then solves
for y in terms of x and substituting into an expression for a rotation in a plane
yields the rotation matrix R which includes the generator G = baT - abT.

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x&=a\cos \left(\alpha \right)+b\sin \left(\alpha

\right)\\y&=-a\sin \left(\alpha \right)+b\cos \left(\alpha \right)\\\cos
\left(\alpha \right)&=a^{T}x\\\sin \left(\alpha \right)&=b^{T}x\\y&=-
ab^{T}x+ba^{T}x=\left(ba^{T}-ab^{T}\right)x\\\\x'&=x\cos \left(\beta \right)
+y\sin \left(\beta \right)\\&=\left[I\cos \left(\beta \right)+\left(ba^{T}-
ab^{T}\right)\sin \left(\beta \right)\right]x\\\\R&=I\cos \left(\beta \right)
+\left(ba^{T}-ab^{T}\right)\sin \left(\beta \right)\\&=I\cos \left(\beta \right)
+G\sin \left(\beta \right)\\\\G&=ba^{T}-ab^{T}\\\end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle
{\begin{aligned}x&=a\cos \left(\alpha \right)+b\sin \left(\alpha \right)\\y&=-a\sin
\left(\alpha \right)+b\cos \left(\alpha \right)\\\cos \left(\alpha
\right)&=a^{T}x\\\sin \left(\alpha \right)&=b^{T}x\\y&=-
ab^{T}x+ba^{T}x=\left(ba^{T}-ab^{T}\right)x\\\\x'&=x\cos \left(\beta \right)
+y\sin \left(\beta \right)\\&=\left[I\cos \left(\beta \right)+\left(ba^{T}-
ab^{T}\right)\sin \left(\beta \right)\right]x\\\\R&=I\cos \left(\beta \right)
+\left(ba^{T}-ab^{T}\right)\sin \left(\beta \right)\\&=I\cos \left(\beta \right)
+G\sin \left(\beta \right)\\\\G&=ba^{T}-ab^{T}\\\end{aligned}}}
To include vectors outside the plane in the rotation one needs to modify the above
expression for R by including two projection operators that partition the space.
This modified rotation matrix can be rewritten as an exponential function.

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}P_{ab}&=-G^{2}\\R&=I-P_{ab}+\left[I\cos
\left(\beta \right)+G\sin \left(\beta
\right)\right]P_{ab}=e^{G\beta }\\\end{aligned}}}{\displaystyle
{\begin{aligned}P_{ab}&=-G^{2}\\R&=I-P_{ab}+\left[I\cos \left(\beta \right)
+G\sin \left(\beta \right)\right]P_{ab}=e^{G\beta }\\\end{aligned}}}
Analysis is often easier in terms of these generators, rather than the full
rotation matrix. Analysis in terms of the generators is known as the Lie algebra of
the rotation group.

Relationship with Lie algebras

The matrices in the Lie algebra are not themselves rotations; the skew-symmetric
matrices are derivatives, proportional differences of rotations. An actual
"differential rotation", or infinitesimal rotation matrix has the form

{\displaystyle I+A\,d\theta ~,}I+A\,d\theta ~,

where d? is vanishingly small and A ? so(n), for instance with A = Lx,

{\displaystyle dL_{x}=\left[{\begin{smallmatrix}1&0&0\\0&1&-d\theta \\0&d\theta

&1\end{smallmatrix}}\right].}dL_{x}=\left[{\begin{smallmatrix}1&0&0\\0&1&-
d\theta \\0&d\theta &1\end{smallmatrix}}\right].
The computation rules are as usual except that infinitesimals of second order are
routinely dropped. With these rules, these matrices do not satisfy all the same
properties as ordinary finite rotation matrices under the usual treatment of
infinitesimals.[3] It turns out that the order in which infinitesimal rotations are
applied is irrelevant. To see this exemplified, consult infinitesimal rotations
SO(3).

Exponential map
Main articles: Rotation group SO(3) � Exponential map, and Matrix exponential
Connecting the Lie algebra to the Lie group is the exponential map, which is
defined using the standard matrix exponential series for eA[4] For any skew-
symmetric matrix A, exp(A) is always a rotation matrix.[nb 1]

An important practical example is the 3 � 3 case. In rotation group SO(3), it is

shown that one can identify every A ? so(3) with an Euler vector ? = ? u, where u =
(x,y,z) is a unit magnitude vector.

By the properties of the identification su(2) ? R3, u is in the null space of A.

Thus, u is left invariant by exp(A) and is hence a rotation axis.

Using Rodrigues' rotation formula on matrix form with ? = ??/2 + ??/2, together
with standard double angle formulae one obtains,

{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}\exp(A)&{}=\exp(\theta ({\boldsymbol {u\cdot

L}}))=\exp \left(\left[{\begin{smallmatrix}0&-z\theta &y\theta \\z\theta &0&-
x\theta \\-y\theta &x\theta &0\end{smallmatrix}}\right]\right)={\boldsymbol {I}}
+2\cos {\frac {\theta }{2}}\sin {\frac {\theta }{2}}~{\boldsymbol {u\cdot L}}+2\sin
^{2}{\frac {\theta }{2}}~({\boldsymbol {u\cdot L}})^{2},\end{aligned}}}
{\begin{aligned}\exp(A)&{}=\exp(\theta ({\boldsymbol {u\cdot L}}))=\exp
\left(\left[{\begin{smallmatrix}0&-z\theta &y\theta \\z\theta &0&-x\theta
\\-y\theta &x\theta &0\end{smallmatrix}}\right]\right)={\boldsymbol {I}}+2\cos
{\frac {\theta }{2}}\sin {\frac {\theta }{2}}~{\boldsymbol {u\cdot L}}+2\sin ^{2}
{\frac {\theta }{2}}~({\boldsymbol {u\cdot L}})^{2},\end{aligned}}
where c = cos ??/2, s = sin ??/2.

This is the matrix for a rotation around axis u by the angle ? in half-angle form.
For full detail, see exponential map SO(3).

Notice that for infinitesimal angles second order terms can be ignored and remains
exp(A) = I + A

See also
Angular distance
Angular velocity
Infinitesimal rotation
Linear elasticity
Second moment of area
References
Note that this exponential map of skew-symmetric matrices to rotation matrices is
quite different from the Cayley transform discussed earlier, differing to 3rd
order, {\displaystyle e^{2A}-{\frac {I+A}{I-A}}=-{\frac {2}{3}}A^{3}+\mathrm {O}
(A^{4})~.}e^{2A}-{\frac {I+A}{I-A}}=-{\frac {2}{3}}A^{3}+\mathrm {O} (A^{4})~.
Conversely, a skew-symmetric matrix A specifying a rotation matrix through the
Cayley map specifies the same rotation matrix through the map exp(2arctanhA).
Kleppner, Daniel; Kolenkow, Robert (1973). An Introduction to Mechanics. McGraw-
Hill. pp. 288�89.
in Euclidean space
(Goldstein, Poole & Safko 2002, �4.8)
(Wedderburn 1934, �8.02)
vte
Classical mechanics SI units
Linear/translational quantities Angular/rotational quantities
Dimensions 1 L L2 Dimensions 1 1 1
T time: t
s absement: A
m s T time: t
s
1 distance: d, position: r, s, x, displacement
m area: A
m2 1 angle: ?, angular displacement: ?
rad solid angle: O
rad2, sr
T-1 frequency: f
s-1, Hz speed: v, velocity: v
m s-1 kinematic viscosity: ?,
specific angular momentum: h
m2 s-1 T-1 frequency: f
s-1, Hz angular speed: ?, angular velocity: ?
rad s-1
T-2 acceleration: a
m s-2 T-2 angular acceleration: a
rad s-2
T-3 jerk: j
m s-3 T-3 angular jerk: ?
rad s-3
M mass: m
kg weighted position: M ?x? = ? m x ML2 moment of inertia: I
kg m2
MT-1 momentum: p, impulse: J
kg m s-1, N s action: ??, actergy: ?
kg m2 s-1, J s ML2T-1 angular momentum: L, angular impulse: ?L
kg m2 s-1 action: ??, actergy: ?
kg m2 s-1, J s
MT-2 force: F, weight: Fg
kg m s-2, N energy: E, work: W, Lagrangian: L
kg m2 s-2, J ML2T-2 torque: t, moment: M
kg m2 s-2, N m energy: E, work: W, Lagrangian: L
kg m2 s-2, J
MT-3 yank: Y
kg m s-3, N s-1 power: P
kg m2 s-3, W ML2T-3 rotatum: P
kg m2 s-3, N m s-1 power: P
kg m2 s-3, W
Categories: Angle
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