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Math · Mul!variable calculus

· Deriva!ves of mul!variable func!ons
· Divergence and curl (ar!cles)

Curl, fluid rota!on in

three dimensions
Curl is an operator which measures rota!on in a fluid
flow indicated by a three dimensional vector field.

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Background
Par!al deriva!ves
Vector fields
Cross product
Curl warmup

Note: Throughout this ar!cle I will use the

conven!on that

^i represents the unit vector in the x-

direc!on.
^j represents the unit vector in the y -
direc!on.
 ^ represents the unit vector in the z -
k
direc!on.

What we're building to

Curl is an operator which takes in a
func!on represen!ng a three-dimensional
vector field and gives another func!on
represen!ng a different three-dimensional
vector field.

If a fluid flows in three-dimensional space

along a vector field, the rota!on of that
fluid around each point, represented as a
vector, is given by the curl of the original
vector field evaluated at that point. The
curl vector field should be scaled by one-
half if you want the magnitude of curl
vectors to equal the rota!onal speed of
the fluid.

If a three-dimensional vector-valued
func!on v(x, y, z) has component
func!ons v1 (x, y, z), v2 (x, y, z) and
v3 (x, y, z), the curl is computed as follows:

∂v3 ∂v2 ^ ∂
∇×v =( − )i + (
∂y ∂z ∂
Notation for curl
Describing rota!on with a
vector
If an object is rota!ng in two dimensions, you
can describe the rota!on completely with a
single number: the angular velocity. A posi!ve
angular velocity indicates a counter-clockwise​
rota!on while a nega!ve number indicates a
clockwise rota!on. The absolute value of the
angular velocity gives the speed of rota!on,
typically in radians per second.

For an object rota!ng in three dimensions, the

situa!on is more complicated. We need to
represent both angular velocity and the
direc!on in three-dimensional space in which
the object is rota!ng.

To do this, rota!on in three dimensions is

typically described using a single vector. The
magnitude of the vector indicates the angular
speed, and the direc!on is determined by a
super-important conven!on called the "right-
hand rule"
 RIGHT-HAND RULE: Curl the fingers of
your right hand in the direc!on of rota!on,
and s!ck out your thumb. The vector
represen!ng this three-dimensional
rota!on is, by defini!on, oriented in the
direc!on of your thumb.

Your thumb should point along the axis of

rota!on. Adop!ng the conven!on of using the
right hand instead of the le$ lets us encode
the difference between a certain three-
dimensional rota!on, and the reverse rota!on.
Basically, it extends the idea of clockwise vs.
counterclockwise into three dimensions.

For example, the rota!on of the earth in space

would be described using a vector poin!ng
from the center of the earth to its north pole,
whose length is equal to the angular speed of
the earth's rota!on (which happens to be
0.0000729 radians/second).
Two-dimensional fluid
rota!on revisited
In the curl warmup ar!cle, I introduce how
fluid flows along a two-dimensional vector
field defined by the func!on

y 3 − 9y
v(x, y) = [ 3 ]
x − 9x
= (y 3 − 9y)^i + (x3 − 9x)^j

The following anima!on gives a simula!on of

this, where fluid par!cles (drawn as blue dots)
always move in the direc!on of the vector
they are closest to. For the purposes of
studying curl, no!ce what happens in and
around the circled regions.

Fluid 'ow with four points of curl interest

The fluid rotates counterclockwise in the le$
and right circles, and clockwise in the top and
bo"om circles. In studying curl, the key
ques!on is this: How much does the fluid
rotate around each specific point (x0 , y0 ) in
the plane?

In the last ar!cle, I gave an intui!on for how

the answer to this ques!on is what you might
call the 2d-curl of v, which has the following
formula:

∂v2 ∂v1
2d-curl v(x0 , y0 ) = (x0 , y0 ) −
∂x ∂y

Here, v1 and v2 are the components of the

vector-valued func!on v. For example, with
specific vector field given above, defined by
(y 3 − 9y)^i + (x3 − 9x)^j, this answer would be

∂(x3 − 9x) ∂(y 3 − 9y)

− = 3x2 − 9 −
∂x ∂y
= 3x2 − 3y 2

No!ce, the result is a scalar-valued func!on.

You plug in a point, like (2, 1), and you get out
a single number which indicates angular
velocity of the fluid near your point,
3(2)2 − 3(1)2 = 12 − 3 = 9. As it turns out this
number represents twice the angular speed of
the fluid near the point, so the speed of
rota!on is 4.5 radians/second (more on this
later). The important point that you get a
single scalar describing the rota!on.

This should make sense because the rota!on

of a single object in two dimensions can be
described with a single number (or scalar), so
rota!on around all possible points in a flowing
fluid should be described with a scalar-valued
func!on.

Reflec!on ques!on: In the fluid flow animated

above, does the fluid have a rota!onal
component at the origin (0, 0)?

Choose 1 answer:

A Yes, clockwise

B Yes, counterclockwise

C No

Check

[Answer]

Moving to three dimensions

In prepara!on for moving to three dimensions,
let's express the fluid rota!on above using
vectors. Focus on a region of counterclockwise
rota!on, such as the right-most circle in the
anima!on above. Imagine wrapping the fingers
of your right hand around this circle, so they
point in the direc!on of the arrows
(counterclockwise in this case), and s!ck out
your thumb. Your thumb should be poin!ng
out of the page, in the posi!ve z -direc!on,
^.
parallel to the unit vector k

If we did this at every point, assigning a vector

to the rota!on around each point on the xy -
plane according to the formula
2d-curl v(x, y) = 3x2 − 3y 2 , you would end up
with something like this:

2d vector 5eld with curl vectors shown

Vectors poin!ng in the posi!ve z -direc!on
indicate counterclockwise rota!on near that
point, and vectors poin!ng the other way
indicate clockwise rota!on, as viewed from
above the xy -plane. The length of each vector
indicates the speed of that rota!on. You could
describe this system of vectors with the
expression

^
(3x2 − 3y 2 )k

This is almost a three-dimensional vector field,

except that we are only looking at points on
the xy -plane, not in all of space. Curl itself
only applies to three-dimensional vector
fields, so to properly set the stage for the
material below, let's make this a fully three-
dimensional example. To start, we extend our
original vector-valued func!on v to a similar
three-dimensional func!on v3d .

⎡ ⎤
3 − 9y
y
v3d (x, y, z) = ⎢ x − 9x ⎥ = (y 3 − 9y
3
⎣ 0 ⎦

As three-dimensional vector fields go, this s!ll

^ component is
feels very flat, doesn't it? The k
0 everywhere, and none of the components
depend on the z input variable at all. We have
basically just copied the original two-
dimensional vector field onto every slice of
three-dimensional space parallel to the xy -
plane.

The next video shows what that vector field

v3d looks like, where we keep the flat xy -plane
(drawn in grey) and red circles as reference
points. No!ce that at each layer parallel to the
xy -plane, the vectors are iden!cal to the
original vectors we had si%ng in the xy -plane
from the purely 2d vector field v in the
previous sec!on.

Treating 2d vector 5eld as 3d vector 5eld

Again, imagine this vector field as represen!ng

a fluid flow, like air in a room or water in a
pool. When we represent the rota!on of this
fluid around each point with a vector a"ached
to that point, we get a new vector field, as
shown in the next video:

Resulting curl vector 5eld

This is given by the vector-valued func!on

w(x, y, z) = (0)^i + (0)^j + (3x2 − 3

This is the same formula that we had before,

^ , but the important point is that
(3x2 − 3y 2 )k
now we apply it to all points (x, y, z) in space,
not just the points (x, y) in the xy -plane.

The fact that the z -input does not

influence the output reflects the fact that
our fluid mo!on is the same in all slices of
space parallel to the xy -plane.
The fact that the ^i and ^
j components are 0
means all rota!on vectors point purely in
the z -direc!on, meaning all actual fluid
rota!on is parallel to the xy -plane.

This new (blue) vector field w is called the

"curl" of the ini!al (green) vector field v3d . One
way you might see this wri"en is

w = curl v3d

This is our first example of honest-to-

goodness three-dimensional curl: Curl, as a
mathema!cal operator, takes in a three-
dimensional vector-valued func!on v3d ,
thought of as represen!ng a fluid flow, and
outputs another three-dimensional vector-
valued func!on "curl v3d " which represents
the rota!on near each point of that fluid.

Visualizing fluid rota!on in

three dimensions
For a general fluid flow in three dimensions,
the rota!on may not always be purely parallel
to the xy -plane. This can make it hard to
picture what's going on. Really hard.

For instance, imagine that the air around you is

blowing and swirling in some chao!c mo!on.
Now pick some specific point (x0 , y0 , z0 ) in
space. How can you think about what "air
rota!on near that point" means?

Here are a couple of tac!cs:

Imagine there is a !ny tennis ball whose

center is fixed to the point (x0 , y0 , z0 ),
but which is free to rotate. Perhaps you
have invented magic to hold it there, or
otherwise have some sort of ingenious
magne!c suspension device. The air
blowing around it may cause it to spin in
some way or another. The curl vector
a"ached to that point will be the vector
describing this !ny tennis ball's rota!on, in
the same way, we described the earth's
 rota!on using a single vector above.

Alterna!vely, take an archer's arrow with

nice thick feathers. The kind you might
imagine Robin Hood shoo!ng. Situate the
arrow in midair such that its feathers are at
the point (x0 , y0 , z0 ). Again, you've
invented magic and finagle a way so that
the base of the arrow is fixed to this point,
but you are free to orient the arrow in any
direc!on you want, and it freely rotates
based on how the wind blows its feathers.

If you experiment with various orienta!ons for

the arrow and find the one direc!on in which
the air currents cause the arrow to rotate the
fastest, this is the direc!on of the curl vector
at the point (x0 , y0 , z0 ).

This is somewhat analogous to how the

gradient points in the "direc!on of steepest
ascent"; the curl points in the "direc!on of
greatest rota!on".

[Actually, "rota!on at a point" is more

complicated]

Nota!on and formula for curl

Let's write v as a general vector-valued
func!on, with three inputs (x, y, z) and a
three-coordinate output. We will write this
three-coordinate output in terms of three
scalar valued func!ons: v1 (x, y, z), v2 (x, y, z),
and v3 (x, y, z).

⎡ v1 (x, y, z) ⎤
v(x, y, z) = ⎢ v2 (x, y, z) ⎥
⎣ v3 (x, y, z) ⎦

= v1 (x, y, z)^i + v2 (x, y, z)^j +

The nota!on for curl uses the same symbol

"∇" used in the expressions for gradient and
divergence, and once again we think of it as
represen!ng a vector of par!al deriva!ve
operators:
 ⎡ ⎤
⎢ ⎥
∂
⎢ ∂x ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ∂ ⎥
∇=⎢
⎢
⎥
⎢ ∂y ⎥
⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ∂ ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎣ ∂z ⎦

The curl is thought of as the cross product of

this "vector" and the func!on v, computed
using the determinant as usual:

curl v = ∇ × v

⎡ ⎤
∂
⎢ ⎥ ⎡ v1 (x, y, z) ⎤
∂x
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ∂ ⎥ ⎢ ⎥
=⎢
⎢
⎥ × ⎢ v2 (x, y, z)
⎢
⎥
⎥
⎢ ∂y ⎥
⎥ ⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥
⎢ ⎥ ⎣ v3 (x, y, z) ⎦
⎣ ⎦
∂
∂z

⎛⎡ ^i ^j k^ ⎤⎞
= det ⎜ ⎢ ⎥⎟
∂ ∂ ∂
⎜⎢ ⎥⎟
⎝⎣ ⎦⎠
∂x ∂y ∂z
v1 v2 v3

∂v3 ∂v ∂v ∂v
= ( − 2 ) ^i + ( 1 − 3 ) ^j +
∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x
I know what you're thinking: "That's the
funkiest determinant I've ever seen. None of
the elements are even numbers! One row has
vectors, one has operators, and one has
func!ons. Can you even do that?" It's a bit
weird, sure, but it works as a nota!onal trick if
nothing else.
[How is each part of this determinant computed?]

Intui!on for the formula

Let's take a close look at this final result:

∂v3 ∂v ∂v ∂v
curl v = ( − 2 ) ^i + ( 1 − 3 ) ^j + (
∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x
No!ce, each component is like its own version
of 2d-curl operator we found in the curl warm
up ar!cle. In fact, the k component has
precisely the same formula as the 2d-curl. This
should make sense because the k-component
of curl should measure the component of fluid
rota!on which is parallel to the xy -plane.

Likewise, the ^i and ^j components measure the

component of the fluid rota!on parallel to the
yz and xz planes respec!vely.

∂v3 ∂v
( − 2 ) ^i ← Rotational component parall
∂y ∂z

∂v1 ∂v
( − 3 ) ^j ← Rotational component parall
∂z ∂x

∂v2 ∂v ^
( − 1)k ← Rotational component parall
∂x ∂y

One li"le nuance I should point out is that

when you evaluate the curl near a point to get
a vector (thought of as a rota!on vector), the
magnitude of that vector does not equal the
angular speed of the imagined fluid near that
point. Instead the magnitude is equal to twice
the angular speed of the fluid.

[Why twice the angular speed?]

Example: Finding rota!on in a
three-dimensional vector field
using curl
Problem: Suppose a fluid flows in three
dimensions according to the following vector
field

v(x, y, z) = (x3 + y 2 + z)^i + (zex )

Describe the rota!on of the fluid near the

point (0, 1, 2)

Step 1: Evaluate curl (you may want some

paper for this one).

∇×v= ^i+ ^j+

^
k

Check

[Answer]

Step 2: Plug in (0, 1, 2)

∇ × v(0, 1, 2) = ^i+
^j+ ^
k

Check

[Answer]
Step 3: Interpret

Near the point (0, 1, 2), the fluid

rota!on is about radians per

second, with rota!on nearly parallel to

the

Check

[Answer]

Summary
Curl is an operator which takes in a
func!on represen!ng a three-dimensional
vector field, and gives another func!on
represen!ng a different three-dimensional
vector field.

If a fluid flows in three-dimensional space

along a vector field, the rota!on of that
fluid around each point, represented as a
vector, is given by the curl of the original
vector field evaluated at that point. The
curl vector field should be scaled by a half
if you want the magnitude of curl vectors
to equal the rota!onal speed of the fluid.

If a three-dimensional vector-valued
func!on v(x, y, z) has component func!on
v1 (x, y, z), v2 (x, y, z) and v3 (x, y, z), the
 curl is computed as follows:

∂v3 ∂v2 ^ ∂v1

∇×v=( − )i + ( −
∂y ∂z ∂z

Just for fun

Here's an anima!on of the fluid flow I showed
at the very start of the ar!cle, but this !me
each dot is treated more accurately like a
droplet of water, flexing and twis!ng based on
how the vector field pulls on each individual
par!cle in the droplet. I also took away the
actual vectors from the vector field so that it's
easier to see how the fluid moves. Hopefully
this gives an impression for how complex yet
beau!ful the fluid-flow concep!on of vector
fields can be.

Fluid 'ow with 'exible droplets

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Ques!ons Tips & Thanks

Want to join the conversa!on?

You need at least 5000 energy points to get
started.

Teodor Chiaburu 5 years ago

more

Shouldn't the k-component of the curl be

perpendicular on the xy-plane? It is stated
in the ar!cle, that it is parallel to the
plane. Likewise for the the i-component of
the curl (perpendicular on the yz-plane,
not parallel to it) and the j-component
(perpendicular on thexz-plane, not
parallel).
1 (5
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Tejas 5 years ago

more

What the ar!cle is saying is that

the actual rota!on is parallel to
the plane, even though the curl
vector is perpendicular.
(22
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felipe.a.montoya 5 years ago
more

Hi. When you calculate the determinant of

∇×v, why do the 'j' component isn't
nega!ve? I have always seen 3x3 (nxn
actually) determinants calculated as (a1b1
- c1d1) i - (a2b2 - 2c2d) j + (3a3b - 3c3d)
k, but in yours, the second component (j)
is posi!ve. Why is it? Thanks!
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5 years
m…
Paul Zander ago

I wondered the same thing. The

answer is that the order of the
terms is also reversed.
- (a2b2 - 2c2d) j = (2c2d -a2b2)
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Zaz Brown 5 years ago

more

How do you make such beau!ful

anima!ons? I'd love to play around with
that kind of thing myself!
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White 4 years ago

more

He coded the en!re thing in

python. Have a look
h"ps://github.com/3b1b/manim
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Xin Fu 5 years ago
more

In the "Two dimensional fluid rota!on

revisited" session, should the result "12-
3=9 radians/second" the twice of the
angular velocity near that point?
Thus, I mean the angular velocity is 4.5
rad/s.
Is that your mistake or I'm wrong?
Please help make it clear to me the
connec!on between the magnitude of curl
and the angular velocity in 2d space)
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Alexander 5 years ago

more

Yeah, that's a mistake on Khan

Academy's part. However, it isn't
that important because the
overall point of that computa!on
was to show that in 2
dimensions the answer is
represented as a scalar.
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Romster%Monster 3 years ago

more

When calcula!ng the angular momentum

in three dimensions does the z_-
component not also be needed to be take
into account? ie should the angular
momentum not be a 1/3 of the magnitude
not 1/2 the magnitude of the curl vector. I
accept that in this example the _z-
component is zero, so the rota!on is only
with described by the x_ and _y direc!ons.
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John Biberman 4 years ago
more

How do we get angular velocity in

radians/second if we haven't parametrized
the vector-valued func!on? In other
words, if we don't have a !me component,
how do we know the speed of the rota!on
at any given moment? Or does curl just
give us rota!onal speed rela!ve to other
points in the field? I don't think it does,
since we've specified that the angular
speed is half the magnitude of curl, but I
s!ll don't see where we're ge%ng our
denominator from for that speed.
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3 years
m…
alek aleksander ago

I guess it is that the vectors

represent velocity and it is
presented in some common
units like distance per second.
What distance is it exactly does
not ma"er to angular speed
since it is expressed in radians
(angle). Time in seconds is just an
assump!on.
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choiceortruth 4 years ago
more

Hi, how do I get an intui!on for the fact

that the 'divergence of curl is always zero'.
From the 3D intui!on video, it seems we
can construct a vector field such that the
divergence of the resultant curl field is
non-zero (like at the bo"om plane we can
have low curl and as we go up the curl
goes up). I know I'm going wrong
somewhere , but I'm not able to figure it
out. Thanks!

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Lukas Janzer 2 years ago
more

A few days ago I was wri!ng a comment

abut a maby possible error on this Page (I
am not sure about the Error). Tomer Gal
answered my comment, but I cant find my
comment. And his comment I cant find
too. Not in "Ques!ons" and not in "Tips &
Thanks". Does anyone know what could
have happened? Or where I have to look
for it? If I click on the no!fica!on to
Tomer Gal's comment, I'll get to this page
here, but not to his comment.
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loumast17 2 years ago

more

You can check your comments

and whatnot on your profile, and
I'm pre"y sure then go to the
video or atricle they are
associated with. Otherwise have
you sorted the comments by
date?
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wrwrwr 5 years ago

more

Hidden "Why twice the angular speed?":

Doesn't del v2 / del x give angular speed
of par!cles le$ and right of (x0, y0) (rather
than above and below the point)?

Example's solu!on: one component -one-

at a !me.
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Colin Ferguson 5 years ago
more

What is the intui!on behind this curl

vector? Is it an eigenvector, where it stays
constant throughout the en!re rota!on?
Don't the par!cles rotate with respect to
the I and J components in these
examples?
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 Show more...

Curl warmup, fluid rota!on in two dimensions