Motion in three dimensions

The trajectory of a particle moving in three dimensions can be described by a position vector that points from the origin to the position of the particle at every time $t$.

$\vec{r} = r_x(t)\hat{x}+ r_y(t)\hat{y}+ r_z(t)\hat{z}.$

The three components of the position vector can all be functions of time. Some example trajectories can be seen by pressing the buttons below. It is also possible to provide mathematical expressions for $r_x(t)$, $r_y(t)$, and $r_z(t)$ in terms of the variable $t$.

the animation to zoom or rotate.

If the animation is stopped, the plot can be rotated with the mouse or you can zoom with the mouse wheel.