Rotation (mathematics)
In geometry and linear algebra, a rotation is a transformation in a plane or in space that describes the motion of a rigid body around a fixed point. A rotation is different from a translation, which has no fixed points, and from a reflection, which "flips" the bodies it is transforming. A rotation and the above-mentioned transformations are isometries; they leave the distance between any two points unchanged after the transformation.
It is important to know the frame of reference when considering rotations, as all rotations are described relative to a particular frame of reference. In general for any orthogonal transformation on a body in a coordinate system there is an inverse transformation which if applied to the frame of reference results in the body being at the same coordinates. For example in two dimensions rotating a body clockwise about a point keeping the axes fixed is equivalent to rotating the axes counterclockwise about the same point while the body is kept fixed.
Read more about Rotation (mathematics): Two Dimensions, Three Dimensions, Four Dimensions
Famous quotes containing the word rotation:
“The lazy manage to keep up with the earth’s rotation just as well as the industrious.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)