Definition:Column Matrix
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Definition
A column matrix is an $m \times 1$ matrix:
- $\mathbf C = \begin {bmatrix} c_{1 1} \\ c_{2 1} \\ \vdots \\ c_{m 1} \end {bmatrix}$
That is, it is a matrix with only one column.
Row Presentation
When presenting a column matrix on the printed page, the decision is often made to save space by presenting it horizontally instead of vertically.
However, it is not then straightforward to recognise that a column matrix, and not a row matrix, is meant.
Hence, in order to alleviate the confusion, braces are often used as delimiters for such a presentation.
Thus the column matrix $\mathbf C$ above would then be presented as:
- $\mathbf C = \set {\begin {matrix} c_{1 1} &c_{2 1} & \cdots & c_{m 1} \end {matrix} }$
Also known as
If such a matrix is an element of a vector space, it is also called a column vector.
Also see
Sources
- 1954: A.C. Aitken: Determinants and Matrices (8th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text I$: Definitions and Fundamental Operations of Matrices: $4$. Matrices, Row Vectors, Column Vectors, Scalars
- 1965: Seth Warner: Modern Algebra ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text {V}$: Vector Spaces: $\S 30$. Linear Equations
- 1980: A.J.M. Spencer: Continuum Mechanics ... (previous) ... (next): $2.1$: Matrices