Definition:Orientation of Coordinate Axes/Cartesian Plane/Right-Handed
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This page is about Orientation in the context of Analytic Geometry. For other uses, see Orientation.
Definition
A Cartesian plane is defined as being right-handed if it has the following property:
Let a right hand be placed, with palm uppermost, such that the thumb points along the $x$-axis in the positive direction, such that the thumb and index finger are at right-angles to each other.
Then the index finger is pointed along the $y$-axis in the positive direction.
Also known as
A right-handed orientation of a Cartesian plane is also referred to as:
- the positive orientation
- the standard orientation.
Also see
Sources
- 1936: Richard Courant: Differential and Integral Calculus: Volume $\text { II }$ ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $\text I$: Preliminary Remarks on Analytical Geometry and Vector Analysis: $1$. Rectangular Co-ordinates and Vectors: $1$. Coordinate Axes