What are uses of vectors in technology?

Answer 1

Simply put, a Vector is a linear direction. It could be the direction that a line in a drawing or graph heads in, it could relate to a pattern of numbers, or it could be the direction in which a spaceship is flying.

Vectors do not by their nature encompass dynamic movement as part of linear movement. EG: a river does not have one vector but many.

"Movement" by the way does not neccessarily mean physical movement.

There are several different kinds of vector. There are mathematical vectors, such as are found in calculations regarding shapes, there are movement vectors that describe (for example) the movement of a vehicle, there are velocity vectors which pertain to the direction in which something is impelled or compelled (a plane in flight, or when a raindrop falls, etc)... there are vectors for all sorts of things.

Many vectors of many kinds can apply to the same (object) at the same time. For instance, a weather satellite may have an orientation vector of 0 (it is facing along the plane of "0"), a thrust vector of 5 (its thrusters are aimed differently to its orientation), a velocity vector of 50 (it is heading the OPPOSITE was as it is facing), and an accelleration vector of 20 (its accelleration is currently constant at 20 whatevers per whatever).

So you see, a vector isn't neccessarily the direction in which something is physically moving, it is just a direction. In mathematics it is usually descriptive of a progression of numbers, eg: 1,2,3,4,5 and so on. The vector is +1 because for each progression you add 1 to reach the next. It is a line and a direction.

You can apply vectors to just about anything you can think of. All something needs is a point of reference in space, time or mathematics and it can have one or several vectors.