User talk:Jcpaks3

If the direction of the cross product of two vectors is always defined using the right rule, then the cross product of two vectors transforms exactly like every other vector under all rotations of the coordinate system, proper or improper. This is easy to verify. It is remarkable that anyone ever thought there was a problem. Vectors are quantities with magnitude and direction. Pseudovectors also have magnitude and direction, but the direction of a pseudovector depends on the orientation of the coordination system. A pseudovector has opposite directions in right and left handed coordinate systems. The claim is often made that the cross product of two vectors is a pseudovector. This is an odd claim since the right hand rule, used to determine the direction of the cross product of two vectors, is independent of coordinate system. There must be an error somewhere and it is easy to find. We will write vectors as A=Axi+Ayj+Azk. To evaluate the cross product of two vectors, C=AxB, we get (after some simple algebra) (1)                C = Cxi+…  =  (Ay*Bz-Az*By)jXk+… and (2)                Cx =  i.C= ( Ay*Bz-Az*By)[i.(jXk)]. Most, if not all, textbooks erroneously write the components of the cross product, incorrectly, as (3)                 Cx =  Ay*Bz-Az*By. Equation (2) is valid in any Cartesian coordinate system regardless of orientation. The factor i.(jXk) is included in Eq.(2), but omitted in Eq.(3). This factor is +1 in right-hand- coordinate systems and -1 in left hand coordinate systems. Omitting this factor implies that if the coordinate system is inverted Cx -> Cx and hence the vector C changes into its negative under an improper rotation. This gives rise to the idea that the cross product of two vectors produces a “pseudo-vector.” This absurd conclusion is the result of using an incorrect formula for the cross product of two vectors. If we consistently use a right hand rule, it is obvious that components of vector cross products transform exactly the same as components of vectors under coordinate inversions. The vector product of two vectors is not a pseudo-vector and A.(B X C) is not a pseudo-scalar.Jcpaks3 (talk) 20:26, 5 January 2016 (UTC)Jcpaks3 (talk) 23:27, 9 January 2016 (UTC)