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Vector transformation A more rigorous definition of vector starts with

the concept that the space is (a) isotopic, so no
So far we have used two different ways to describe preferred direction, (b) homogeneous, so no

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vector; (a) geometry approach---vector as an arrow, preferred location. A physical quantity such as
(b) algebra approach--- vector as components of displacement or force, should be independent of
Cartesian coordinates. However both approaches

Rotational matrix

Rotational matrix
the coordinate system we choose.
are not very satisfactory and are rather naïve.
Let
Here we follow the approach of a mathematician
and define a vector as a set of three components that
transforms in the same manner as a displacement
when we change the coordinates. As always, the
displacement vector is the model for the behavior of
all vectors. 1 2
Rotation about z-axis, using right-hand rule (Counter clockwise).

The relationship between , and , can be expressed

below:
(2)
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This is rotation about x-axis, again we use right-hand rule, so the y-
axis is rotated toward x-axis.
The above equations can be combined into one matrix notation;
Rotational matrix

Rotational matrix
For the rotation about y-axis, using right-hand rule, we have:

(1)

This is a rotation about the z-axis. In the text book, it Now we see that the matrix is a lot different from the previous
is a rotation about the x-axis. For rotation about x ones. In order to make the rotation matrix the same as in x and z-
axis is given on the next page: axis, we define the rotation about y-axis as clockwise, so the
3 rotational matrix for the y-axis will have similar form as other two 4
axes.

For rotation about y-axis, clockwise, the rotation matrix is given

Example 1

We want to rotate the z-axis through an angle of

φ such that the axis is coincided with line
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(3)
Rotational matrix

Rotational matrix

Step #1
Now for the most general case, we can rotates the coordinate by Rotates about the z-axis by an angle of
an arbitrary angle through an arbitrary direction, and the
rotation matrix is given below, however the determination of the
matrix elements will be a challenging task, since we only know (4)
how to do it through the above three equations (1), (2) and (3)
Step #2
Rotates about y’ axis, counterclockwise by an angle of θ

(5)
5 6

1
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Re-arrange eq. (5) Problem 1.9

Find the transformation matrix R that describes a rotation by 120°
(6) about an axis from the origin through the point (1,1,1). The rotation
is clockwise.

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z

Step #3
y

Rotational matrix

Rotational matrix
Rotates about the axis, by an angle of -φ

x
(7)

By inspection, we can see that the transformation matrix R is given by

The final rotation matrix is

(9)
, , ∙ ∙

7 8

The rotation on page 8 is equivalent to:

1. Rotates about z-axis for -90°, and then

2. Then rotates about -axis clockwise 90°
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z
Rotational matrix

0 0
R= 0 1 0 0 °
0 0 0 1 φ °

0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 9
1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0