Coordinate System Types
Rectilinear coordinate systems have axes that are straight lines with a metric (scale) defined on each axis
- The rectilinear coordinate systems in the SRM follow a right hand rule
Cartesian coordinate systems are rectilinear coordinate systems that have the same metric on each axis
Orthonormal coordinate systems are Cartesian coordinate systems where the axes are orthogonal to every other axis
Orthonormal Coordinates (two-dimensional) uniquely locate points on a plane using a doublet of values, e.g., (x, y)
Orthonormal Coordinates (three-dimensional) uniquely locate points in 3-D using a triplet of values, e.g., (x, y, z)
Curvilinear coordinate systems are three-dimensional coordinate systems that have axes that are space curves defined by the intersection of three-dimensional surfaces