Cylindrical coordinate system: Information from Answers.com

A cylindrical coordinate system with origin O, polar axis A, and longitudinal axis L. The dot is the point with radial distance ρ = 4, angular coordinate φ = 130°, and height z = 4.

A cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system, where each point is specified by the two polar coordinates of its perpendicular projection onto some fixed plane, and by its (signed) distance from that plane.

The polar coordinates may be called the radial distance or radius, and the angular position or azimuth, respectively. The third coordinate may be called the height (if the reference plane is considered horizontal). The line perpendicular to the reference plane and goes through its origin may be called the cylindrical axis or longitudinal axis.

Cylindrical coordinates are useful in connection with objects and phenomena that have some rotational symmetry about the longitudinal axis, such as water flow in a straight pipe with round cross-section, heat distribution in a metal cylinder, and so on.

1 Conventions
2 Definition
- 2.1 Unique cylindrical coordinates
3 Coordinate system conversions
- 3.1 Cartesian coordinates
- 3.2 Cylindrical coordinates
4 Line and volume elements
5 Cylindrical Harmonics
- 5.1 Example: Point source inside a conducting cylindrical box
6 See also
7 Bibliography
8 External links

Conventions

The notation for cylindrical coordinates is not uniform. The ISO standard 31-11 recommends (ρ, φ, z), where ρ is the radial coordinate, φ the azimuth, and z the height. However, the radius is also often denoted r, the azimuth by θ or t, and the third coordinate by h or (if the cylindrical axis is considered horizontal) x, or any context-specific letter.

The coordinate surfaces of the cylindrical coordinates (ρ, φ, z). The red cylinder shows the points with ρ=2, the blue plane shows the points with z=1, and the yellow half-plane shows the points with φ=-60°. The z-axis is vertical and the x-axis is highlighted in green. The three surfaces intersect at the point P with those coordinates (shown as a black sphere); the Cartesian coordinates of P are roughly (1.0, -1.732, 1.0).

In concrete situations, and in many mathematical illustrations, a positive angular coordinate is measured counterclockwise as seen from any point with positive height.

Definition

The three coordinates (ρ, φ, z) of a point P are defined as:

the radial distance ρ is the Euclidean distance from the origin to the point P.
the azimuth φ is the angle between the reference direction on the chosen plane and the line from the origin to the projection of P on the plane.
the height z is the signed distance from the chosen plane to the point P.

Unique cylindrical coordinates

As in polar coordinates, the same point with cylindrical coordinates (ρ, φ, z) has infinitely many equivalent coordinates, namely (ρ, φ ± n×360°, z) and (-ρ, φ ± (2n + 1)×180°, z), where n is any integer. Moreover, if the radius ρ is zero, the azimuth is arbitrary.

In situations where one needs a unique set of coordinates for each point, one may restrict the radius to be non-negative (ρ ≥ 0) and the azimuth φ to lie in a specific interval spanning 360°, such as (−180°,+180°] or [0,360°).

Coordinate system conversions

The cylindrical coordinate system is one of many three-dimensional coordinate systems. The following formulae may be used to convert between them.

Cartesian coordinates

For the conversion between cylindrical and Cartesian coordinate systems, it is convenient to assume that the reference plane of the former is the Cartesian x–y plane (with equation z = 0) , and the cylindrical axis is the Cartesian z axis. Then the z coordinate is the same in both systems, and the correspondence between cylindrical (ρ,φ) and Cartesian (x,y) are the same as for polar coordinates, namely

$x = \rho \cos \varphi$

$y = \rho \sin \varphi$

in one direction, and

$\rho = \sqrt{x^{2}+y^{2}}$

$\varphi = \begin{cases} 0 & \mbox{if } x = 0 \mbox{ and } y = 0\\ \arcsin(\frac{y}{\rho}) & \mbox{if } x \geq 0 \\ \arcsin(\frac{y}{\rho}) + \pi & \mbox{if } x < 0\\ \end{cases}$

in the other. The arcsin function is the inverse of the sine function, and is assumed to return an angle in the range [−π/2,+π/2] = [−90°,+90°]. These formulas yield an azimuth φ in the range [-90°,+270°). For other formulas, see the polar coordinate article.

Many modern programming languages provide a function that will compute the correct azimuth φ, in the range (−π, π], given x and y, without the need to perform a case analysis as above. For example, this function is called by atan2(y,x) in the C programming language, and atan(y,x) in Common Lisp.

Cylindrical coordinates

Spherical coordinates may be converted into cylindrical coordinates by:

$\rho = r \sin \theta \,$

$\varphi = \varphi \,$

$z = r \cos \theta \,$

Cylindrical coordinates may be converted into spherical coordinates by:

$r=\sqrt{\rho^2+z^2}$

${\theta}=\operatorname{arctan}(\rho,z)$

${\varphi}=\varphi \quad$

Line and volume elements

See multiple integral for details of volume integration in cylindrical coordinates, and Del in cylindrical and spherical coordinates for vector calculus formulae.

In many problems involving cylindrical polar coordinates, it is useful to know the line and volume elements; these are used in integration to solve problems involving paths and volumes.

The line element is

$\mathrm d\mathbf{r} = \mathrm d\rho\,\boldsymbol{\hat \rho} + \rho\,\mathrm d\varphi\,\boldsymbol{\hat\varphi} + \mathrm dz\,\mathbf{\hat z}.$

The volume element is

$\mathrm dV = \rho\,\mathrm d\rho\,\mathrm d\varphi\,\mathrm dz.$

The surface element is

$\mathrm dS= \rho\,d\varphi\,dz.$

The del operator in this system is written as

$\nabla = \boldsymbol{\hat \rho}\frac{\partial}{\partial \rho} + \boldsymbol{\hat \varphi}\frac{1}{\rho}\frac{\partial}{\partial \varphi} + \mathbf{\hat z}\frac{\partial}{\partial z},$

and the Laplace operator $Δ$ is defined by

$\Delta f = {1 \over \rho} {\partial \over \partial \rho} \left( \rho {\partial f \over \partial \rho} \right) + {1 \over \rho^2} {\partial^2 f \over \partial \varphi^2} + {\partial^2 f \over \partial z^2 }.$

Cylindrical Harmonics

Cylindrical harmonics are a set of solutions to Laplace's differential equation $\nabla^2 V = 0$ expressed in cylindrical coordinates. Each harmonic function $V n (k)$ consists of the product of three functions:

$V_n(k;\rho,\varphi,z)=P_n(k,\rho)\Phi_n(\varphi)Z(k,z)\,$

where $(\rho,\varphi,z)$ are the cylindrical coordinates, and n and k are constants which distinguish the members of the set from each other. As a result of the superposition principle applied to Laplace's equation, very general solutions to Laplace's equation can be obtained by linear combinations of these functions.

Since all of the surfaces of constant ρ, φ and z are conicoid, Laplace's equation is separable in cylindrical coordinates. Using the technique of the separation of variables, a separated solution to Laplace's equation may be written:

$V=P(\rho)\,\Phi(\varphi)\,Z(z)$

and Laplace's equation, divided by V, is written:

$\frac{\ddot{P}}{P}+\frac{1}{\rho}\,\frac{\dot{P}}{P}+\frac{1}{\rho^2}\,\frac{\ddot{\Phi}}{\Phi}+\frac{\ddot{Z}}{Z}=0$

The Z part of the equation is a function of z alone, and must therefore be equal to a constant:

$\frac{\ddot{Z}}{Z}=k^2$

where k is, in general, a complex number. For a particular k, the Z(z) function has two linearly independent solutions. If k is real they are:

$Z(k,z)=\cosh(kz)\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,\sinh(kz)\,$

or by their behavior at infinity:

$Z(k,z)=e^{kz}\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,e^{-kz}\,$

If k is imaginary:

$Z(k,z)=\cos(|k|z)\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,\sin(|k|z)\,$

or:

$Z(k,z)=e^{i|k|z}\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,e^{-i|k|z}\,$

It can be seen that the Z(k,z) functions are the kernels of the Fourier transform or Laplace transform of the Z(z) function and so k may be a discrete variable for periodic boundary conditions, or it may be a continuous variable for non-periodic boundary conditions.

Substituting $k 2$ for $\ddot{Z}/Z$ , Laplace's equation may now be written:

$\frac{\ddot{P}}{P}+\frac{1}{\rho}\,\frac{\dot{P}}{P}+\frac{1}{\rho^2}\frac{\ddot{\Phi}}{\Phi}+k^2=0$

Multiplying by $ρ 2$ , we may now separate the P and Φ functions and introduce another constant (n) to obtain:

$\frac{\ddot{\Phi}}{\Phi} =-n^2$

$\rho^2\frac{\ddot{P}}{P}+\rho\frac{\dot{P}}{P}+k^2\rho^2=n^2$

Since $\varphi$ is periodic, we may take n to be a non-negative integer and accordingly, the $\Phi(\varphi)$ the constants are subscripted. Real solutions for $\Phi(\varphi)$ are

$\Phi_n=\cos(n\varphi)\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,\sin(n\varphi)$

or, equivalently:

$\Phi_n=e^{in\varphi}\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,e^{-in\varphi}$

The differential equation for $ρ$ is a form of Bessel's equation.

If k is zero, but n is not, the solutions are:

$P_n(0,\rho)=\rho^n\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,\rho^{-n}\,$

If both k and n are zero, the solutions are:

$P_n(k,\rho)=\ln\rho\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,1\,$

If k is a real number we may write a real solution as:

$P_n(k,\rho)=J_n(k\rho)\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,Y_n(k\rho)\,$

where $J n (z)$ and $Y n (z)$ are ordinary Bessel functions. If k is an imaginary number, we may write a real solution as:

$P_n(k,\rho)=I_n(|k|\rho)\,\,\,\,\,\,\mathrm{or}\,\,\,\,\,\,K_n(|k|\rho)\,$

where $I n (z)$ and $K n (z)$ are modified Bessel functions. The cylindrical harmonics for (k,n) are now the product of these solutions and the general solution to Laplace's equation is given by a linear combination of these solutions:

$V(\rho,\varphi,z)=\sum_n \int dk\,\, A_n(k) P_n(k,\rho) \Phi_n(\varphi) Z(k,z)\,$

where the $A n (k)$ are constants with respect to the cylindrical coordinates and the limits of the summation and integration are determined by the boundary conditions of the problem. Note that the integral may be replaced by a sum for appropriate boundary conditions. The orthogonality of the $J n (x)$ is often very useful when finding a solution to a particular problem. The $\Phi_n(\varphi)$ and $Z (k, z)$ functions are essentially Fourier or Laplace expansions, and form a set of orthogonal functions. When $P n (k ρ)$ is simply $J n (k ρ)$ , the orthogonality of $J n$ , along with the orthogonality relationships of $\Phi_n(\varphi)$ and $Z (k, z)$ allow the constants to be determined.

$\int_0^a J_n(k\rho)J_n(k'\rho)\rho\,d\rho = \frac{1}{k}\delta_{kk'}$

see smythe p 185 for more orthogonality

In solving problems, the space may be divided into any number of pieces, as long as the values of the potential and its derivative match across a boundary which contains no sources.

Example: Point source inside a conducting cylindrical box

As an example, consider the problem of determining the potential of a unit source located at $(\rho_0,\varphi_0,z_0)$ inside a conducting "cylindrical box" (e.g. an empty tin can) which is bounded above and below by the planes $z = - L$ and $z = L$ and on the sides by the cylinder $ρ = a$ (Smythe, 1968). (In MKS units, we will assume $q / 4πε 0 = 1$ ). Since the potential is bounded by the planes on the z axis, the Z(k,z) function can be taken to be periodic. Since the potential must be zero at the origin, we take the $P n (k ρ)$ function to be the ordinary Bessel function $J n (k ρ)$ , and it must be chosen so that one of its zeroes lands on the bounding cylinder. For the measurement point below the source point on the z axis, the potential will be:

$V(\rho,\varphi,z)=\sum_{n=0}^\infty \sum_{r=0}^\infty\, A_{nr} J_n(k_{nr}\rho)\cos(n(\varphi-\varphi_0))\sinh(k_{nr}(L+z))\,\,\,\,\,z\le z_0$

where $k n r a$ is the r-th zero of $J n (z)$ and, from the orthogonality relationships for each of the functions:

$A_{nr}=\frac{4(2-\delta_{n0})}{a^2}\,\,\frac{\sinh k_{nr}(L-z_0)}{\sinh 2k_{nr}L}\,\,\frac{J_n(k_{nr}\rho_0)}{k_{nr}[J_{n+1}(k_{nr}a)]^2}\,$

Above the source point:

$V(\rho,\varphi,z)=\sum_{n=0}^\infty \sum_{r=0}^\infty\, A_{nr} J_n(k_{nr}\rho)\cos(n(\varphi-\varphi_0))\sinh(k_{nr}(L-z))\,\,\,\,\,z\ge z_0$

$A_{nr}=\frac{4(2-\delta_{n0})}{a^2}\,\,\frac{\sinh k_{nr}(L+z_0)}{\sinh 2k_{nr}L}\,\,\frac{J_n(k_{nr}\rho_0)}{k_{nr}[J_{n+1}(k_{nr}a)]^2}.\,$

It is clear that when $ρ = a$ or $| z | = L$ , the above function is zero. It can also be easily shown that the two functions match in value and in the value of their first derivatives at $z = z 0$ .

Point source inside cylinder

Removing the plane ends (i.e. taking the limit as L approaches infinity) gives the field of the point source inside a conducting cylinder:

$V(\rho,\varphi,z)=\sum_{n=0}^\infty \sum_{r=0}^\infty\, A_{nr} J_n(k_{nr}\rho)\cos(n(\varphi-\varphi_0))e^{-k_{nr}|z-z_0|}$

$A_{nr}=\frac{2(2-\delta_{n0})}{a^2}\,\,\frac{J_n(k_{nr}\rho_0)}{k_{nr}[J_{n+1}(k_{nr}a)]^2}.\,$

Point source in open space

As the radius of the cylinder (a) approaches infinity, the sum over the zeroes of J_n(z) becomes an integral, and we have the field of a point source in infinite space:

$V(\rho,\varphi,z) =\frac{1}{R} =\sum_{n=0}^\infty \int_0^\infty dk\, A_n(k) J_n(k\rho)\cos(n(\varphi-\varphi_0))e^{-k|z-z_0|}$

$A_n(k)=(2-\delta_{n0})J_n(k\rho_0)\,$

and R is the distance from the point source to the measurement point:

$R=\sqrt{(z-z_0)^2+\rho^2+\rho_0^2-2\rho\rho_0\cos(\varphi-\varphi_0)}.\,$

Point source in open space at origin

Finally, when the point source is at the origin, $ρ 0 = z 0 = 0$

$V(\rho,\varphi,z)=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\rho^2+z^2}}=\int_0^\infty J_0(k\rho)e^{-k|z|}\,dk.$

Bibliography

Morse PM, Feshbach H (1953). Methods of Theoretical Physics, Part I. New York City: McGraw-Hill. pp. 6576–657. ISBN 0-07-043316-X, LCCN 52-11515.

Margenau H, Murphy GM (1956). The Mathematics of Physics and Chemistry. New York City: D. van Nostrand. p. 178. LCCN 55-10911.

Korn GA, Korn TM (1961). Mathematical Handbook for Scientists and Engineers. New York City: McGraw-Hill. pp. 174–175. LCCN 59-14456, ASIN B0000CKZX7.

Sauer R, Szabó I (1967). Mathematische Hilfsmittel des Ingenieurs. New York City: Springer-Verlag. p. 95. LCCN 67-25285.

Zwillinger D (1992). Handbook of Integration. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 0-86720-293-9.

Moon P, Spencer DE (1988). "Circular-Cylinder Coordinates (r, ψ, z)". Field Theory Handbook, Including Coordinate Systems, Differential Equations, and Their Solutions (corrected 2nd ed., 3rd print ed. ed.). New York City: Springer-Verlag. pp. 12–17 (Table 1.02). ISBN 978-0387184302.

External links

MathWorld description of cylindrical coordinates

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Cylindrical coordinate system

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