Thornton & Marion, Classical Dynamics, 5th Edition
Chapter 1. Matrices, Vectors, and Vector Calculus
Problem 03. Transformation Matrix
The problem asks you to
- find a transformation matrix that satisfying some conditions.
This problem gives (or assumes)
- This matrix rotates a rectangular coordinate through an angle of 120 degrees about an axis making equal angles with the original one.
You should know about
- Direction cosine
- Transformation matrix
Solution
We can see the relation between the rotated and the original coordinates system. This picture shows that
So, the transformation matrix is
Therefore,