Dimensional Analysis

At first when one sits down and views the world through open eyes, the explanations for near all
phenomena that we observe are mysterious. There are those that claim they know the answer, but what they
actually mean is that they have memorized a model which describes the behaviour of the thing which they claim
to know, and hence are able to make predictions using this model. But to as the actual nature of why their
model is correct is still a mystery, for throughout the years people and scientists have constantly updated their
models to fit the new facts, and to give a new explanation of the how of things, but until we can say for certain
that the how of things must be so and no other can be so, we cannot begin to explain the why. But as I highly
doubt that we will ever reach that kind of certainty, the why will always remain a mystery.
Just as the first scientists devised models to predict certain behaviours of the universe, we too will derive
models, by a method called dimensional analysis, but first we must state a few postulates.
The concept of a dimension is similar to that of a unit. In the most basic sense it is a conversion
mechanism from the abstract world into something mathematical, or to something that we can manipulate so as
to express our ideas to others with no question about their meaning. Dimensions can be treated as a language in
which physical sciences are written in. For example, to become a goo philosopher, one must be fluent in a
language, such as English or Deutsch. These languages allow us to convert our thoughts and ideas into
something that can be conveyed to others, and they can help ourselves think about the very matter of which we
are pondering. The more fluent one is in a language, the better one can convey philosophy. Mathematics is the
universal language of physical science. Dimensional analysis is part of mathematics.
The first dimension, or unit, I would like to discuss is the length unit. Length refers to the size or
longation of a vas. We use length as both a measure of distance and a measure of size. We will denote length
as L. Next I would like to mention the time unit. Time itself is an abstract idea, and a physical meaning as to
the nature of time is hard to pin down. One can say they have time, they exist in time, they are traveling
through time, and for the sake of simplicity I will not now try to decipher the nature of time, but merely to let
you know that is a tool of abundant use. Here we will use time as the elapsed period between events or
markers, and will be denoted as T. Next we shall consider mass. When we think of mass we revert to a
physical object, that which takes up space. Mass can be treated as the physical quantitative size of an object,
and here we will denote it as M. Even though we won’t be using it much in this text we come upon the unit of
temperature. Temperature is simply kinetic energy on the microscopic level but since it is applies to collections
of large bodies and can be easily measured from these collections, it is tool that we can use. We denote it as R.
Lastly we will investigate the concept of charge. Charge, like time, is abstract and requires careful notice as to
the nature of it. And unlike the previous units we have mentioned, charge can take on forms; positive, negative,
and neutral. We can think of these attributes as addition and subtraction quantities. For example, we can have a
length and add a negative length, or shorten the previous length, to obtain a new length. Likewise if we have a
charge we can take away from that charge, or we can think of it as adding the negative charge to our original
charge. Even though this may not be what is physically happening in the system, it is acceptable to manipulate
quantities of charges in this fashion. And one more important note I would like to say on charge. Why do we
have only three charges? Based on experience we only need three charges to fully explain what we observe, but
one could have more charges and have a reasonable model. As I can see no reason why adding additional,
unnecessary charges would help a model, we will stick with the three. We will denote charge as C. Everything
in this text will be expressed in terms of these five units.
Units can be expressed in many different ways. For example, length can be measured in meters, inches,
fortnights, etc. These are all examples of length, and I will refer to these different measurement systems as
cases. A meter, for example, is a different case from a centimeter.
Quantity is a dimensionless constant that tells us how much of something there is. A quantity can be
any number. When performing dimensional analysis quantitative constants act like a unit, that is they can only
be mathematically manipulated on each other. For example if we have an object that travels a distance of d in t
amount of time, what is the average velocity of the object?

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 Dimensional Analysis

d (m) 1 d (m)
=
1 t (s ) t ( s)

Where m is meters and s is seconds. We want the units of velocity so we divide the distance by the time to get
the correct units, and then perform the same mathematical operations on the individual quantities to get the
quantity of whatever it is you are solving for. Now let us say that we want to express this answer in terms of
another case. Now we will have

d (m) 1 ( ft) β ( s) dβ ( m ) ( ft ) (s) dβ (ft )

= =
1 t (s ) α (m) (mn) tα ( s )( m) (mn) tα (mn)

Where ft is feet, mn is minutes, and α and β are conversion constants. Note the quantities and units can be
grouped separately in and out of calculation.
But what do composite units mean? What do they tell us? Let us take the motion of an object for
example, off of our previous example. Our minds can automatically conjure up the idea of motion and
immediately apply it to an object, and one of these attributes our mind can apply is the velocity of an object.
L
The language of units allows us to convert these ideas into a mathematical representation. The dimension is
T
a representation of velocity. This tells us that an object moves through a unit length per every unit time. The
L
acceleration of an object has dimension 2 . This means that an object is moving through a unit length per a
T
unit time per a unit time. For every second, the object is moving one unit length per unit time more than the
previous unit time. Check the table below.

t x(t) = (v = 1)t t(n) – t(n-1) 1 2 t(n) – t(n-1)

x(t) = ( a=1)t
2
0 0 0
1 1 1 .5 .5
2 2 1 2 1.5
3 3 1 4.5 2.5
4 4 1 8 3.5
5 5 1 12.5 4.5

1 1
As we can from the third column the position from increases constantly. From 2 , as noted by the last
T T
column, the position increases constantly by one, it is moving a unit length per unit time per unit time.
Let’s consider a more intuitive unit, length. When we mention a vas with length L, this is a one
dimensional size, either a length or a distance. When we have an L2 this is an area. The two length vectors are
placed orthogonal to one another to form a plane, this representation is two dimensional. Next we have a L3
unit, and this represents a volume, or space. The three length vectors are orthogonal to one another and form a
three dimensional enclosure.

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 Dimensional Analysis

1 xC
Now let’s say we have . This is a per length unit. For example, if we had , this would mean we
L L
xC
would have an x amount of charge for every unit length. Consequently, if we had 2 , we would have an x
L
amount of charge per unit area.
By having a good understanding of units you will have a better understanding of physical equations,
since they are expressed in terms of units. And now we are reading to derive our own physical equations and
models by using dimensional analysis.
Let’s say we throw a ball straight up into the air and we wish to find an equation for the maximum
height that the ball reaches. First we define parameters that we think affect the ball’s motion. We say that the
ball’s height depends upon its initial velocity, gravity, and it’s mass. Thus the ball’s height can be expressed as
a function of initial velocity, gravity, and mass, or hball = f(v0, g, m). We can rewrite this equation as follows.

h ball=k v α0 g β mγ

Where α, β, and γ are the exponents and k is the proportionality constant. In unit notation the equation takes on
this form.

1 0 0 Lα Lβ γ
LT M = M
T α T2 β

To solve for the exponents we only need solve the resulting linear system below.

1 1 0 α 1 α 2

[ −1 −2 0 β = 0
0 0 1 γ 0 ][ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
¿=¿ β = −1
γ 0

Where the first column represents the equation derived from L, the second from T, and the third from M.
Solving this system yields the values at right. Now we have a model for the height of the ball in terms of the
parameters we think affect the ball’s height. The equation is below.

v 20
h ball=k
g

If one correctly identifies all the necessary parameters which affect the ball’s height one needs only one
experiment (probably more than one to get a better approximation) to determine the value of the proportionality
constant k. Doing the experiment we find that k is equal to one half. We also find that the height of the ball,
combined with our other parameters, does not depend on mass. If we proposed the ball was thrown with some
force, then if we chose new parameters to accommodate for that fact, then we would find that the ball’s height
would be mass dependent.
Now let us try to derive a range equation for a 2D projectile motion problem. One could immediately
express the range of a projectile as a function of initial velocity, gravity, and angle. However angle is not a
dimension, it is a dimensionless unit. More exactly it can be thought of as a ratio between two length units, or
L
. If one is familiar with trigonometry and/or physics, one knows why it must be this way. So instead one can
L

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 Dimensional Analysis

express range as a function of the separate components of initial velocity and gravity, or f(vx, vy, g). I will show
two moderately separate approaches for finding a model. We write the equation below.

α β γ Lα 1 Lβ
0 Lγ
r =k v v g =¿> L T = α cos β sin 2 γ
x y
T T T

I place the cos and sin explicitly so as to clarify how exactly the horizontal and vertical components of the
velocity are mathematically related to the overall velocity. We now end up with the following set of linear
equations.

1 1 1 α 1 α 2−β

[ −1 −1 −2 β
0 0 0 γ
= 0
0 ][ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
=¿> β
γ
= β
−1

Now believe it or not, even though we do not know the values of α and β, we still have enough information to
solve the problem. We can rewrite the equation as follows.

v 2− β v β v2
sincos= sincos
g g

Take note on how the value of β does not change the dimensions. Due to the fact that β cancels out means that
we are free to select any value of β and the equality of the equation will still hold. All we have left to do is to
2
try to simplify this expression. We will multiply the left side of the equation above by , and this leaves us
2
with 2 sincos=sin ⁡( 2θ). Our resulting model for the range of a projectile is as follows.

v 2 sin ⁡(2θ)
r =k
2g

Doing some test runs reveals that k is equal to two. One could combine the half and k and still call it k since
changing k by a constant factor still leaves it as a proportionality constant.
A separate way one could approach this would be breaking the velocity in component form, expanding it
out, then treat range as a function of velocity squared and gravity, instead of two separate velocity components.
Use this method with caution, however, for it may lead one astray. For example, let us try to find the
period of which a simple pendulum oscillates. One may assert that the period can be expressed as a function of
h
mass, gravity, and the height of which one raises it. Dimensional analysis will give you model of T = ,
√ g
where h is the height and g is gravity. Only after doing some test runs will one realize that this model is wrong,
and in fact as one changes the height, which is the only easily variable parameter in this model, the period will
remain constant. So either there is some function of proportionality which is dependent upon h and somehow
exactly cancels out the right hand term in the equation above, or our initial assumptions are wrong. Since the
latter is far more likely, one would revisit his initial assumptions. After careful study one would realize that h in
the equation above actually refers to the length of the pendulum arm. Since the length and height are both
length units, dimensional analysis would not catch this error. So in conclusion it is possible, without even
taking a step out one’s door, to derive a reasonable model for a system.

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 Dimensional Analysis

Geometry is an important branch of mathematics, even though it is very basic compared to some.
Analogies comparing more complicated mathematical systems to geometric systems are common, and are
commonly employed so as to progress when one is stuck. We will later provide examples of this. The
geometric principles that I will be using comes from Euclidean principles and postulates, developed by the
Greek mathematician Euclid. By reviewing key geometric principles we will gain a better understanding of the
intricacies of the world through the eyes of mathematics.
As stated previously, we define area as a square of a length unit. Now this may sound trivial, but we
must first define what a right angle is. Two vectors directed at right angles to one another define a plane. This
plane is two dimensional, created from orthogonally projecting one dimensional vectors. The area inscribed by
these two vectors is defined by the product of the magnitude by these vectors. I draw a diagram below.

y A=xy

The area of the box is the product of x and y. Orthogonal, for now, simply means perpendicular. We will get to
what orthogonal actually means later in the text.

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