cart2sph

Transform Cartesian coordinates to spherical

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Syntax

[azimuth,elevation,r] = cart2sph(x,y,z)

Description

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[azimuth,elevation,r] = cart2sph(x,y,z) transforms corresponding elements of the Cartesian coordinate arrays x, y, and z to spherical coordinates azimuth, elevation, and r.

Examples

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Open Live Script

Convert the Cartesian coordinates defined by corresponding entries in the matrices x, y, and z to spherical coordinates az, el, and r. These points correspond to the eight vertices of a cube.

x = [1 1 1 1; -1 -1 -1 -1]
x = 2×4

     1     1     1     1
    -1    -1    -1    -1


y = [1 1 -1 -1; 1 1 -1 -1]
y = 2×4

     1     1    -1    -1
     1     1    -1    -1


z = [1 -1 1 -1; 1 -1 1 -1]
z = 2×4

     1    -1     1    -1
     1    -1     1    -1


[az,el,r] = cart2sph(x,y,z)
az = 2×4

    0.7854    0.7854   -0.7854   -0.7854
    2.3562    2.3562   -2.3562   -2.3562


el = 2×4

    0.6155   -0.6155    0.6155   -0.6155
    0.6155   -0.6155    0.6155   -0.6155


r = 2×4

    1.7321    1.7321    1.7321    1.7321
    1.7321    1.7321    1.7321    1.7321

Input Arguments

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Cartesian coordinates, specified as scalars, vectors, matrices, or multidimensional arrays. x, y, and z must be the same size, or any of them can be scalar.

Data Types: single | double

Output Arguments

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Azimuth angle, returned as an array. azimuth is the counterclockwise angle in the x-y plane measured in radians from the positive x-axis. The value of the angle is in the range [-pi pi].

Elevation angle, returned as an array. elevation is the elevation angle in radians from the x-y plane. The value of the angle is in the range [-pi/2, pi/2].

Radius, returned as an array. r is the distance from the origin to a point. The length units of r are arbitrary, matching the units of the input arrays x, y, and z.

Algorithms

The mapping from three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates to spherical coordinates is

azimuth = atan2(y,x)
elevation = atan2(z,sqrt(x.^2 + y.^2))
r = sqrt(x.^2 + y.^2 + z.^2)

The notation for spherical coordinates is not standard. For the cart2sph function, elevation is measured from the x-y plane. Notice that if elevation = 0, the point is in the x-y plane. If elevation = pi/2, then the point is on the positive z-axis.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

See Also

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Introduced before R2006a

MATLAB Documentation

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