CARTESIAN COORDINATES
The Cartesian coordinate system was developed by the mathematician Descartes during an illness. As he lay in bed sick, he saw a fly buzzing around on the ceiling, which was made of square tiles. As he watched he realized that he could describe the position of the fly by the ceiling tile he was on. After this experience he developed the coordinate plane to make it easier to describe the position of objects.
Cartesian Coordinate System consists of two axes, X and Y, which intersect each other at a point called `origin`, and is used to define the position of any point by using ordered pairs. In two-dimensional coordinate system, the reference of a point is given by using two coordinates, X and Y.
Who Uses Coordinates?
The system of coordinates that Descartes invented is used in many modern applications. For example, on any map the location of a country or a city is usually given as a set of coordinates. The location of a ship at sea is determined by longitude and latitude, which is an application of the coordinate system to the curved surface of Earth. Computer graphic artists create figures and computer animation by referencing coordinates on the screen.
No comments:
Post a Comment