Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Therefore, nonzero, non-scalar quaternions, or positive scalar quaternions, have exactly two roots, while 0 has exactly one root (0), and negative scalar quaternions have infinitely many roots, which are the vector quaternions located on {} (), i.e., where the scalar part is zero and the vector part is located on the 2-sphere with radius .
3D visualization of a sphere and a rotation about an Euler axis (^) by an angle of In 3-dimensional space, according to Euler's rotation theorem, any rotation or sequence of rotations of a rigid body or coordinate system about a fixed point is equivalent to a single rotation by a given angle about a fixed axis (called the Euler axis) that runs through the fixed point. [6]
In mathematics, quaternionic analysis is the study of functions with quaternions as the domain and/or range. Such functions can be called functions of a quaternion variable just as functions of a real variable or a complex variable are called.
The Hurwitz quaternions form an order (in the sense of ring theory) in the division ring of quaternions with rational components. It is in fact a maximal order; this accounts for its importance. The Lipschitz quaternions, which are the more obvious candidate for the idea of an integral quaternion, also form an order.
Quaternions continued to be a well-studied mathematical structure in the twentieth century, as the third term in the Cayley–Dickson construction of hypercomplex number systems over the reals, followed by the octonions, the sedenions, the trigintaduonions; they are also a useful tool in number theory, particularly in the study of the ...
W. R. Hamilton introduced quaternions [10] [11] in 1843, and by 1873 W. K. Clifford obtained a broad generalization of these numbers that he called biquaternions, [12] [13] which is an example of what is now called a Clifford algebra.
Like rotation matrices, quaternions must sometimes be renormalized due to rounding errors, to make sure that they correspond to valid rotations. The computational cost of renormalizing a quaternion, however, is much less than for normalizing a 3 × 3 matrix. Quaternions also capture the spinorial character of rotations in three dimensions.
This article describes Hamilton's original treatment of quaternions, using his notation and terms. Hamilton's treatment is more geometric than the modern approach, which emphasizes quaternions' algebraic properties. Mathematically, quaternions discussed differ from the modern definition only by the terminology which is used.