ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

3D rotation

Imagine you have a toy car in your hand and you want to show it to your friend. But instead of just giving it to your friend, you want to show them how it looks from different angles. That's what 3D rotation is all about!

First, you hold the car in your hand and show your friend the top view, where they can see the shape of the car from above. Then, you tilt the car to the side and show them the side view. Finally, you turn the car around so they can see the back view.

Similarly, in 3D rotation, we take an object and show it from different angles by rotating it around different axes (like the X, Y, and Z axes). This way, we can see the object from all possible perspectives.

To understand this better, imagine a cube. When we rotate the cube around the X axis (which runs horizontally through the object), we are showing it from different angles along the left-right direction. Similarly, when we rotate it around the Y axis (which runs vertically through the object), we are showing it from different angles along the up-down direction. And when we rotate it around the Z axis (which runs through the depth of the object), we are showing it from different angles along the front-back direction.

All of this rotation can be done using software on a computer. By applying different angles of rotation, the software can create a 3D image of the object that can be viewed from any angle. This is how 3D animation and special effects are created in movies and video games!