Working in Different Coordinate Systems
Usually you will solve problems in one of the following coordinate
systems:
(1) Cartesian coordinates
(2) Cylindrical coordinates
(2) Spherical coordinates
The idea behind using a different coordinate system is to make the problem you are solving
as simple as possible. If you use a system that is not helpful, you will wind up doing
more work than necessary.
Symmetry considerations will normally dictate which system to use. Finite distributions of points are
usually amenable to Cartesian coordinates. Fields surrounding wires are often easiest to
express in cylindrical coordinates. Fields surrounding spheres, clouds, etc. will probably
be best handled in spherical coordinates.
But remember as you go from system to system that you must be careful about how you define
different quantities. For example, volume elements are usually expressed as follows:
(1) Cartesian coordinates : dV = dx dy dz
(2) Cylindrical coordinates : dV = r dr d(phi) dz
(3) Spherical coordinates : dV = R^2 sin(theta) dR d(theta) d(phi)
Our definition of the del operator also changes from coordinate system to coordinate
system.
A good idea is to understand why we have to redefine these quantities. This will allow
you to remember that you do need to change the definition, so you won't forget to look
them up and use the correct ones.
The reason that quantities such as volume appear to have different definitions in each
system is that not all coordinates of all systems represent length. In cartesian
coordinates, we know that all three coordinates represent length. Since a volume is
determined by a length cubed, we get all of our ordinary definitions. However, cylindrical
and Spherical coordinates contain terms that represent angles. In order to use such a
direction to represent a length, we must change the angle into a length.
In cylindrical coordinates, for example, to change the phi component d(phi) to a length,
you must multiply by the radius r. That is why a factor of r appears in the definition of
dV for cylindrical coordinates. Similar arguments exist for spherical coordinates.
The bottom line is that if you are dealing with any formular that relies on length (and
you will, because many formulas involve an integral over dL, dS, or dV), check your
coordinates system. If you are in a system where not all of the coordinates are lengths,
remember to add in the proper factors so that they may be treated as lengths.