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Translation (physics)
 
 
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In physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, translation is movement that changes the position
Displacement (vector)

In physics, displacement is the vector that specifies the change in position of a point or a particle in reference to a previous position. When the previous point is the origin, this is better referred to as a position vector....
 of an object, as opposed to rotation
Rotation

A rotation is a movement of an object in a circular motion. A two-dimensional object rotates around a center of rotation. A Three-dimensional space object rotates around a line called an axis....
. For example, according to Whittaker:

A translation is the operation changing the positions of all points (x, y, z) of an object according to the formula

where is the same vector
Vector

Vector may refer to:...
 for each point of the object. The translation vector common to all points of the object describes a particular type of displacement
Displacement (vector)

In physics, displacement is the vector that specifies the change in position of a point or a particle in reference to a previous position. When the previous point is the origin, this is better referred to as a position vector....
 of the object, usually called a linear displacement to distinguish it from displacements involving rotation, called angular displacements.

A translation of space (or time) should not be confused with a translation of an object.






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In physics
Physics

Physics is the natural science which examines basic concepts such as energy, force, and spacetime and all that derives from these, such as mass, charge, matter and its Motion ....
, translation is movement that changes the position
Displacement (vector)

In physics, displacement is the vector that specifies the change in position of a point or a particle in reference to a previous position. When the previous point is the origin, this is better referred to as a position vector....
 of an object, as opposed to rotation
Rotation

A rotation is a movement of an object in a circular motion. A two-dimensional object rotates around a center of rotation. A Three-dimensional space object rotates around a line called an axis....
. For example, according to Whittaker:

A translation is the operation changing the positions of all points (x, y, z) of an object according to the formula

where is the same vector
Vector

Vector may refer to:...
 for each point of the object. The translation vector common to all points of the object describes a particular type of displacement
Displacement (vector)

In physics, displacement is the vector that specifies the change in position of a point or a particle in reference to a previous position. When the previous point is the origin, this is better referred to as a position vector....
 of the object, usually called a linear displacement to distinguish it from displacements involving rotation, called angular displacements.

A translation of space (or time) should not be confused with a translation of an object. Such translations have no fixed points
Fixed point (mathematics)

In mathematics, a fixed point of a function is a point that is mapped to itself by the function. That is to say, x is a fixed point of the function f if and only if f = x....
.

See also

  • Translation (geometry)
    Translation (geometry)

    In Euclidean geometry, a translation is moving every point a constant distance in a specified direction. It is one of the Euclidean groups . A translation can also be interpreted as the addition of a constant vector space to every point, or as shifting the Origin of the coordinate system....