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Preferred term

cylindrical coordinate  

Definition

  • A cylindrical coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system that specifies point positions by the distance from a chosen reference axis, the direction from the axis relative to a chosen reference direction, and the distance from a chosen reference plane perpendicular to the axis. The latter distance is given as a positive or negative number depending on which side of the reference plane faces the point. The origin of the system is the point where all three coordinates can be given as zero. This is the intersection between the reference plane and the axis. The axis is variously called the cylindrical or longitudinal axis, to differentiate it from the polar axis, which is the ray that lies in the reference plane, starting at the origin and pointing in the reference direction. Other directions perpendicular to the longitudinal axis are called radial lines. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindrical_coordinate_system)

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/MDL-FH254JM1-V

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