polar
(Not recommended) Polar coordinate plot
polar is not recommended. Use polarplot instead.
Syntax
polar(theta,rho)
polar(theta,rho,LineSpec)
polar(axes_handle,...)
h = polar(...)
Description
The polar function accepts polar coordinates, plots them in a Cartesian
plane, and draws the polar grid on the plane.
polar(theta,rho) creates a polar coordinate plot
of the angle theta versus the radius rho.
theta is the angle from the x-axis to the radius
vector specified in radians; rho is the length of the radius vector
specified in dataspace units.
polar(theta,rho,LineSpec)
LineSpec specifies the line type, plot symbol, and color for the lines
drawn in the polar plot.
polar(axes_handle,...) plots into the axes with
the handle axes_handle instead of into the current axes (gca).
h = polar(...) returns the line object in
h.
Examples
Simple Polar Plot
Create a simple polar plot using a dashed red line.
theta = 0:0.01:2*pi;
rho = sin(2*theta).*cos(2*theta);
figure
polar(theta,rho,'--r')
Tips
Negative r values reflect through the origin, rotating by
pi (since (theta,r) transforms to
(r*cos(theta), r*sin(theta))). If you want different behavior, you can
manipulate r prior to plotting. For example, you can make
r equal to max(0,r) or
abs(r).