The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector

The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector

by George Mpantes www.mpantes .gr

Historical summary
The vectors
The transformation equations of coordinates
the transformation equations of vectors
Euclidean Geometry and Newtonian physics .
Philosophical comments !ristotle
Historical summary
There is un unspoken hypothesis which underlies all the physical theories so far
created, namely that behind physical phenomena lies a unique mathematical structure
which is the purpose of theory to reveal. According to this hypothesis , the
mathematical formulae of physics are discovered not invented, the Lorentz
transformation , for eample ,being as much a part of physical reality as a table or a
chair!. " #$LAT%&%T'( T)$ *+$,%AL T)$-#' ".#.$ynge p../01
%ndeed in our eample the physical phenomenon is the force, and the
underlying mathematical structure is vector analysis. 2ut looking the historical
process, mathematics create their truths independently, discover new entities,
and their tendency for generalization goes ahead eceeding the initial physical
presuppositions. The new discoveries of the mathematical process return to the
physical theory where they create new unifications and generalizations, now for
the phenomena of the actual world. ,an we trust them3 ,an mathematics lead
1
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
the physical theory3 The answer seems to be positive, if the measurements
agree with the mathematical con4ectures "electromagnetic waves51. that is that
mathematical structure etends the physical theory. *o, for eample, with the
support of the use of vector methods , we had a development of theoretical
physics and by the beginning of the twentieth century, vector analysis had
become firmly entrenched as a tool for the development of geometry and
theoretical physics.
As we look back on the nineteenth century it is apparent that a
mathematical theory in terms of which physical laws could be described and
their universality checked was needed. 6iguratively speaking two men stepped
forward in this direction, )amilton and 7rassman. )amilton was trying to find
the appropriate mathematical tools with which he could apply 8ewtonian
mechanics to various aspects of astronomy and physics. 7rassman tried to
develop an algebraic structure on which geometry of any number of dimension
could be based. The quaternions of )amilton and 7rassmann9s calculus of
etension proved to be too complicated for quick mastery and easy application ,
but from them emerged the much more easily learned and more easily applied
sub4ect of vector analysis. This work was due principally to the American
physicist :ohn ;illard 7ibbs ".<0=>.=?01 and is encountered by every student
of elementary physics.
The vectors .
;hat is behind the physical phenomenon of the velocity@ of the force@
there is the mathematical concept of the vector. This is a new concept, since
force has direction, sense, and magnitude, and we accept the physical principle
that the forces eerted on a body can be added to the rule of the
parallelogram. This is the first aiom of 8ewton. 8ewton essentially requires
that the power is a A vectorial A size , without writing clearly , and 7alileo that
applies the principle of the independence of forces .
2
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
These are the basic physical indications for the mathematical treatment,
for vector
%
geometry!, where
the term vector denotes a translation or a displacement a in the space.
B
The
statement that the displacement a transfers the point + to the point C "transforms! +
into C 1 may also be epressed by saying that C is the end>point of the vector a whose
starting point is at +. if + and C are ant two points then there is one and only one
displacement a which transforms + to C. ;e shall cal it the vector defined by + and C
and indicate it by
Q P

.
There are two fundamental operations, which are sub4ect to a system of
laws, viz. addition of two vectors "the translation which arises through two
successive translations "law of parallelogram1, and multiplication of a vector by a
number "is defined through the addition1. These laws are
!.Addition( a&b'c
with the properties
aDbEbDa
"aDb1DcEaD"bDc1
%f a and c are any two vectors , then there is one and only one value of (
for which the equation aD(Ec holds
). Fultiplication bEG.a
with the properties
"GDH1aE"Ga1D"Ha1
G"Ha1E"GH1a
..aEa
G"aDb1E"Ga1D"Gb1
%n elementary physics , a vector is graphically regarded as a directed line
segment , or arrow. This is the translation or the displacement described by
;eyl. *o in elementary physics , vector was something apparent, something
concrete and intuitively simple. %t was geometrical. %n theoretical physics it
became an idea, something cerebral, connected with algebra. The first was a
1
The term vector was introduced from )amilton
2
This definition is from ;eyl, "*pace, time, matter1
3
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
sketch of the second. This is the course of mathematics. The formula for
algebraic vector was the old bold ,artesian binding of geometry with algebra viz
this of a picture with the abstract and compact truth of numbers, a good
combination between intuition and rigor, through concepts, in the center of
which was the well>known coordinate system one of the more significant
generalization of mathematics.
2y means of a coordinate system, a set of ordered triples of real
numbers can be put into one>to>one correspondence with the points of a three
dimensional $uclidean space. )owever many aspects of modern>day science
cannot be adequately described in terms of a three>dimensional $uclidean model.
The ideas of vector analysis when epressed in a notational fashion are
immediately etendable to n>dimensional space and their physical usage is amply
demonstrated in the development of special and general relativity theory.
;ith the change of the figurativeness of the points, change also the
description of the vector.
The set IA
.
, A
B
, A
0
J of all triples "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1, "A
.
K, A
B
K, A
0
K1 etc.,
determined by orthogonal pro4ections of a common arrow representation on the
aes of the associated rectangular ,artesian coordinate system is said to be a
*artesian vector. Fany triples means many systems, but all these represent
the same ,artesian vector, which has a family of arrows as its geometrical
representative. The binding of orthogonal pro4ections with the law of
parallelogram is the base of all the formalism of vector analysis.
0
A *artesian vector "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1, "0>tuple+ can be represented
graphically by an arrow with it9s initial point at the origin and it9s terminal
point at the position with coordinates "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1, but it is not the only possible
arrow representation. An arrow with initial and terminal points "a,b,c1 and
"A,2,,1 such that A
.
EA>a, A
B
E2>b, A
0
E,>c can be considered a representative
of a 0>tuple.
3
*ee my article the mathematical forms of nature, the tensors!
4
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
A *artesian vector with respect to a coordinate system, is
characterized by a magnitude , a direction and a sense , and its components in
any coordinate system satisfy the algebraic laws of the triples, viz the laws %
and , for the vectors, epressed algebraically , if we define aE"a
.
,a
B
,L..a
n
1
bE"b
.
,b
B
,L.b
n
1
i.e "a
.
,a
B
,L..a
n
1D"b
.
,b
B
,L.b
n
1E"a
.
Db
.
, a
B
Db
B
DLLa
n
,b
n
1.
G.aEG"a
.
,a
B
,L..a
n
1E "Ga
.
,Ga
B
,L..Ga
n
1 .
8ow an analytical treatment of vector geometry is possible, in which
every vector is represented by it9s components and every point by its
coordinates.
)ow all these triples, "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1, "A
.
K, A
B
K, A
0
K1 etc., are related3
The transformation equations of coordinates
A fundamental problem of theoretical physics is that formulating
universally valid laws relating natural phenomena. 2ecause the transformation
idea is of such importance, the development of vector geometry and later of
vector analysis is build around this.
A rectangular ,artesian coordinate system
M
imposes a one>to>one
correspondence between the points of $uclidean three>space and the set of all
ordered triples of real numbers. A second rectangular ,artesian system brings
about another correspondence of the same point . ;hat is the nature of those
transformations that relate such coordinate representations of the three>
space3
The specific transformations of coordinates for our eample in the
development of vector analysis, are called translations and rotations. They are
linear transformations and they connect orthogonal ,artesian systems. All linear
transformations have the characteristic that the fundamental relations "A1 and
"21 are not disturbed by the transformation viz they hold for the transformed
points and vectors (
4
;e eamine this particular case in our eample.
5
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
-.Db.Ec. b.EG .a.LLL
N$6%8%T%-8 .. The transformation equations that relate the
coordinates ) , , x ( and ) , , (
3 2 1 3 2 1
x x x x x in rectangular coordinate systems , the
aes of which are parallels are
) 1 ....( .......... ..........
0
j j j
x x x + =
where
) , , (
3
0
2
0
1
0
x x x
represent the unbarred coordinates of the origin of
the barred system -9. These are called equations of translation. The ,artesian
vector concept is employed in obtaining them.
N$6%8%T%-8 B.
The transformation equations that relate the coordinates
) , , x ( and ) , , (
3 2 1 3 2 1
x x x x x in rectangular coordinate systems, having a common
origin and such that there is no change of unit distance along coordinate aes,
are related by the transformation equations
) 2 ..( ..........
k j
k
j
x c x =

where the coefficients of
transformations
j
k
a
are direction
cosines satisfying the conditions
p
3
1
k
j
p
j
j
k
c c =

=
6
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
These are called equations of rotation.
The transformations of the coordinates "B1 are a subset of the linear or
affine transformations, with the general form
) 3 .........(
3
2
1
3
3
3
2
3
1
2
3
2
2
2
1
1
3
1
2
1
1
3
2
1

x
x
x
c c c
c c c
c c c
x
x
x
where apply the conditions of orthogonality, they are the orthogonal
transformations that connect orthogonal ,artesian systems with common origin
and are produced from the vectorial behavior of the vectorial units "bases1 in
the aes of the two systems
. +hysically they describe, as we have mention, the rotation of an
orthogonal ,artesian system. The orthogonal transformations fulfill the first
unification of geometry "the $uclidean metrical geometry in every orthogonal
system1 and as the geometry is a fundamental branch of physics, this unification
will be the model of the unification of physical laws in all the systems.
"universality1
2ut what about the vectors3 ;hat is their deepest behavior in the scene
of coordinate systems3

the transformation equations of vectors
;e have seen that a ,artesian vector "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1 can be represented
graphically by an arrow, but
The components of this arrow, transform under rotation, as the coordinates .
+roof( %f the transformation "B1 is applied to the coordinates of +
?
and +
.
, the
coordinate differences I
j j
x x
0 1

J satisfy
) 4 ..( .......... )......... (
0 1 0 1 0 1
k k j
k
k j
k
k j
k
j j
x x c x c x c x x = =

that is the transformation "B1.
A corresponding verification of the statement holds for translations, where the
vector components remain unaltered.
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The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
*o we have the definition of the ,artesian vector under the light of both
transformations(
A ,artesian vector "A
.
, A
B
, A
0
1, is a collection of ordered triples , each
associated with a rectangular ,artesian coordinate system and such that any
two satisfy the transformation law
) 5 ......( .......... .......... ..........
k
k
j
j
A
x
x
A

=
where the partial derivatives are the coefficients
j
i
c
of the linear
transformation "01, of coordinates.
;e must notice that every component of the vector in the new system is
a linear combination of the components in the initial variables. *o if all
components of the vector are zero in the initial system they will be also zero in
the new variables. This is the more important property of vectors( a vectorial
equation holds in every rectangular ,artesian system "for our paradigm1, if it
holds in one5 This is the root of the universality of the physical or geometrical
laws, as we see in the end of the article. 8ewton9s law is universal because it is
written in vectorial form. %t9s invariance in translation is the mathematical
acceptance of the 8ewtonian principle of relativity.
The scalars .
A second concept which has evolved in the development of vector analysis is
that of the scalar. The definition of scalar states that it is a quantity
possessing magnitude but no direction. *uch entities as mass, time, density and
temperature are given as eamples. 2ut for mathematics, the prize eample is
the real number, as it does not have to be associated with magnitude. 6rom a
historical point of view scalar is a quantity invariant under all transformations
of coordinates "6eli Olein1. ;hether a given algebraic form is invariant depends
on the group of transformations under consideration. Again the scalars , as
vectors, are associated with coordinate systems and transformations.

8
The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
Euclidean Geometry and Newtonian physics .
The mathematical investigation showed that our Onown geometrical
vector "arrow1 has hidden qualities which are raised by their correlation with
coordinate systems( The laws of it9s transformation. The vector concept
received much of its impetus from this fact, so it plays a fundamental role in
many aspects of geometry and physics. This mathematical result underlies the
principles of relativity of 8ewton and $instein, that would be ungrounded
without the mathematical discovery of the transformation theory of the vectors
and "later1 of tensors.
Fagnitude and angle are fundamental to the metric structure of
$uclidean space. They are scalar invariants under the transformations of the
orthogonal ,artesian set.
The inner product transforms
k
k
k s r
r
s r j
s
j
j
r
s j
s
j
r j
r
j
j
j
Q P Q P Q P c c Q c P c Q P

= = = =
= = = =
3
1
s
3
1
3
1
3
1
) ( ) (
and the distance of the points
j
0 1
X ,
j
X
"through M1
2 3
0
3
1
2 2
0
2
1
2 1
0
1
1
2 3
0
3
1
2
0
2
1
2 1
0
1
1
) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( x x x x x x x x x x x x + + = + +
These formulas carry out the first unification of metrical $uclidean geometry.
An observer who measures a distance and an angle in a orthogonal ,artesian
system uses the same formulas and finds the same results with somebody else
who measures the same magnitudes in another orthogonal ,artesian system,
which subsists a translation or a rotation of the first. The question of finding
those entities "as distance and inner product1 that have an absolute meaning
transcending the coordinate system, is of prime significance. This gives us a
direction as to which of the concepts considered in the framework of
rectangular ,artesian systems should be generalized as well as how to bring
about the generalizations. This is the criminal point of the universality of the
physical laws. Foreover, the availability of the ,artesian systems of reference
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The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector
will be valuable when considering the special theory of relativity, in a later
article.
%n vector formalism, we will now show the covariance of 8ewtonPs
law in linear systems with given origin " rotation1 .
%n the system O we have

Fultiply by
r
k
x
x

and summing with respect to k "from Q1 we have

*o the form of the equation remains the same in the new system
" covariant 1 , and the mathematical formalism demonstrates that the laws of
8ewton have a universal application in $uclidean space, where we can ad4ust
orthogonal ,artesian systems. The physical laws are invariant in form in all the
orthogonal ,artesians systems "my article covariance and invariance in physics!1

Philosophical comments !ristotle .
The quotation of *ynge about the discovery of mathematical structure
of vector analysis , where the vector is as much a part of physical reality as a
table, is very poetic, having construct a reality of visible and invisible ob4ects,
as the vector and the table. &ector eists as the table but it is invisible5
Aristotle in his ideas of the theory of knowledge "!nalytica posterioria1
says that the knowledge of a fact differs from the knowledge of a reasoned fact! .
The theoretical foundations of the systems of this deductive reasoning,
account of first principles where are the bases of every science. L. The
scientific knowledge through reasoning is impossible if we do not know the first
principles. L.it is clear that in science of nature as elsewhere we should try first to
10
) (
k k
m
dt
d
F =
) ( ) (
r r k
r
k
k
r
k
m
dt
d
F
x
x
m
dt
d
F
x
x
=

The mathematical and philosophical concept of vector

determine questions about the first principles L..RGSTUVW XRY Z[\]R[^YX_W XRY `HUaUW XRY
Z[\Tba]U[UW XRY RY]VUW ]cd adHZU[`aHR]cW,the first basis from which a thing is knownLL
as regards their e(istence must be assumed for the principle ,"what a straight line is ,
what a triangle is ..1but proved for the rest of the system, by logical reasoning.
)ow are these first principles to be established3 L.they are arrived by
the repeated visual sensations, which leave their marks in the memory. Then we reflect
on these memories and arrive by a process of intuition "ecdW1 at the first principles L.if
there in not something intelligible behind the phenomena, there is not science for
anything, science is not created from sensesL.
*o vector is an intelligible creation, a first principle, that is a conviction,
a support of the deductive reasoning. This reasoning constructs a mental logical
reality in our brains, which is the human9s way of comprehension. Fathematics
are neither discoveries nor inventions. Fathematics are creations , as poems,
but logical creations, based on the rules of deductive reasoning.
2ut in fact, their first principles are founded in nature.

$ources
Herman /eyl "space,time, matter,Nover1
H.Eves "foundations and fundamental concepts of mathematics,Nover1
".# $ynge "#elativity( the special theory, 8oth )olland publising ,ompany
Amsterdam 8ew 'ork -ford1
0obert *./rede "introduction to vector and tensor analysis, Nover1
!ristotle "Analytica posterioria, internet1
George Mpantes mathematics teacher www.mpantes.gr
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