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For example, in d = 4 dimensions, the cross product of two vectors has dimension 4–2 = 2, giving a bivector. Thus, only in three dimensions does cross product define an algebra structure to multiply vectors.
To paraphrase Baylis: Given two polar vectors (that is, true vectors) a and b in three dimensions, the cross product composed from a and b is the vector normal to their plane given by c = a × b. Given a set of right-handed orthonormal basis vectors { e ℓ}, the cross product is expressed in terms of its components as:
This also relates to the handedness of the cross product; the cross product transforms as a pseudovector under parity transformations and so is properly described as a pseudovector. The dot product of two vectors is a scalar but the dot product of a pseudovector and a vector is a pseudoscalar, so the scalar triple product (of vectors) must be ...
In mathematics and physics, the right-hand rule is a convention and a mnemonic, utilized to define the orientation of axes in three-dimensional space and to determine the direction of the cross product of two vectors, as well as to establish the direction of the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field.
The following are important identities in vector algebra.Identities that only involve the magnitude of a vector ‖ ‖ and the dot product (scalar product) of two vectors A·B, apply to vectors in any dimension, while identities that use the cross product (vector product) A×B only apply in three dimensions, since the cross product is only defined there.
The cross product in relation to the exterior product. In red are the unit normal vector, and the "parallel" unit bivector. For example, torque is generally defined as the magnitude of the perpendicular force component times distance, or work per unit angle.
In three dimensions, the torque is a pseudovector; for point particles, it is given by the cross product of the displacement vector and the force vector. The direction of the torque can be determined by using the right hand grip rule : if the fingers of the right hand are curled from the direction of the lever arm to the direction of the force ...
The cross product (also called the vector product or outer product) is only meaningful in three or seven dimensions. The cross product differs from the dot product primarily in that the result of the cross product of two vectors is a vector. The cross product, denoted a × b, is a vector perpendicular to both a and b and is defined as