Spherical coordinate system
Imagine you are playing with a big beach ball. You can describe where your hands are on the ball using three things: distance from the center, the angle around the ball, and the angle above or below the middle of the ball.
This is kind of like how we use the spherical coordinate system in math to describe where things are in 3-D space. Instead of a ball, we have a location in space that we want to describe.
The first thing we need is the distance from the center of the space location (which is like the center of the ball). We call this distance r.
Next, we need to figure out the angle around the space location. We call this angle theta (kind of like how you might use degrees to talk about where your hands are on the ball).
Finally, we need to figure out the angle above or below the location's midpoint. We call this angle phi.
By using r, theta, and phi, we can describe any location in 3-D space using the spherical coordinate system.
This is kind of like how we use the spherical coordinate system in math to describe where things are in 3-D space. Instead of a ball, we have a location in space that we want to describe.
The first thing we need is the distance from the center of the space location (which is like the center of the ball). We call this distance r.
Next, we need to figure out the angle around the space location. We call this angle theta (kind of like how you might use degrees to talk about where your hands are on the ball).
Finally, we need to figure out the angle above or below the location's midpoint. We call this angle phi.
By using r, theta, and phi, we can describe any location in 3-D space using the spherical coordinate system.
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