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Chem 373 - Vectors

Vectors are physical quantities that have both magnitude and direction. They can be represented in a Cartesian coordinate system with components in the x, y, and z directions. The addition and subtraction of vectors involves adding the corresponding components. The dot product of two vectors results in a scalar quantity, while the cross product of two vectors produces a new vector perpendicular to both original vectors. Vector operators like gradient and momentum can be used to express vector quantities in terms of partial derivatives.

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22 views6 pages

Chem 373 - Vectors

Vectors are physical quantities that have both magnitude and direction. They can be represented in a Cartesian coordinate system with components in the x, y, and z directions. The addition and subtraction of vectors involves adding the corresponding components. The dot product of two vectors results in a scalar quantity, while the cross product of two vectors produces a new vector perpendicular to both original vectors. Vector operators like gradient and momentum can be used to express vector quantities in terms of partial derivatives.

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Nuansak3
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VECTORS

Vectors

SCALARS : Physical Properties that are specified only by their magnitude e.g. Mass , length,energy VECTORS : Physical properties that are specified by their length as well as direction e.g. Force, position, velocity A vector A can be defined with respect to a fixed Cartesian coordinate system

A k i j

as A = A xi + A yj + A z k i,j,k unit vectors along thex,y,z directions Ax,A y,A z the projections of A on i,j,k

Vectors
Addition of two vectors

B B

C A

C = A+B = B+A
A + B = Axi + A yj + A z k +B xi + B yj + B z k A + B = (A x+ B x)i + (Ay+B y)j + (A z +B z )k length of vector |A| = | 2 Ax 2 Ay 2 Ax |

Vectors
Scalar product between two vectors The dot product orscalar product between two vectors is given by

A. B = |A||B| cos For the unit vectors in our Cartesian coordinate system
A k i j

we have i . i = j. j = k . k = 1*1* cos(0) = 1 i . j = i. k = j.k = 1 cos( 2 ) = 0 Thus A . B = (A xi + A yj +A z ) . (B xi +B yj +B z k) = A . B = AxBx + A yBy +A z Bz

The Vector Product or Cross product

Vectors

The vector product between two vectors A and B ,written as AX B


C |A| |B| sin

C =AXB

is a new vector perpendicular to the plane defined by A and B and of the length |A||B|sin We have for the unit vectors in our Cartesian system
A k i j

IXj = k jXi =-k

jXk = i kXj = -i

kXi = j iXk = -j

Vectors
Thus AXB = (A xi + A yj +A z ) .X(Bxi +B yj +B z k) AXB = (A yBz - Az By)i + (Az Bx -A xBz )j + (A xBy - A yBx)k

The cross product AXB = can also be written as i AXB = Ax Bx j Ay By k Az Bz Determinant

A Vector Operator = i +j +k

Vectors

as an example the momentum operator p = -i [ i +j +k ] = -i working on the function

The gradient of a functionis grad g(x,y,z) = grad g(x,y,z) = i g(x,y,z)

g g g +j +k x y z

The gradient is a vector ,an example is the force F derived from a scalar potential V(x,y,z) V V V F = -i +j +k x y z F =-

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