polar coordinates

polar coordinates

[′pō·lər kō′ȯrd·ən·əts]

(mathematics)

A point in the plane may be represented by coordinates (r,θ), where θ is the angle between the positive x-axis and the ray from the origin to the point, and r the length of that ray.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

polar coordinates

Polar coordinates are often used to uniquely locate, and define, the points in a geometric plane.

The coordinates derived from the distance and angular measurements from a fixed point (i.e., pole). Polar coordinates are almost always used in plotting antenna direction patterns.

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved