Motion in a Plane
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Question : 27
Total: 32
A vector has both magnitude and direction. Does it mean that anything that has magnitude and direction is necessarily a vector? The rotation of a body can be specified by the direction of the axis of rotation, and the angle of rotation about the axis. Does that make any rotation a vector?
Solution:
Generally, rotation is not considered a vector, despite the fact that it has the magnitude and direction. The reason is that the addition of two finite rotations does not obey the commutative law. Since addition of vectors should obey the commutative law, a finite rotation cannot be regarded as a vector, However, infinitesimally small rotations obey the commutative law for addition and hence an infinitesimally small rotation is a vector.
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