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#1 2024-09-12 23:53:46

paulb203
Member
Registered: 2023-02-24
Posts: 278

Displacement

Although displacement is regarded as a vector quantity is there one exception where it is a scalar quantity, i.e, when one undertakes a round trip and the displacment is zero?
(There is no direction to give, just the magnitude, i.e, zero)


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#2 2024-09-13 05:53:34

Bob
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Registered: 2010-06-20
Posts: 10,583

Re: Displacement

Hmm. Good point. I've never thought about that before.  The nul vector is definitely a vector. If a vector had components x and y then the angle that vector makes with the positive x axis is arctan(y/x).

If x = y = 0 then y/x is indeterminate.  So I guess it has a direction but nobody knows, or will know, what it is.  smile

There's plenty of things you can work out so I think just file this away with Schrodinger's cat.

Bob


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#3 2024-09-14 05:34:02

paulb203
Member
Registered: 2023-02-24
Posts: 278

Re: Displacement

Thanks, Bob.
Filed away smile


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