I have a cube from (0,0,0) [bottom left] to (255,255,255) [far top right], and all the other vertices

are
(0,0,255) (255,0,255) that sort of thing.
A line goes through (0,0,0)&(255,255,255). I suppose thatd be x=y=z.
Now theres a plane which has the three non-collinear points on it; (x,0,0) (0,y,0) & (0,0,z). It gets a little
complicated, but basically, this plane is at alpha {A} deg. to x axis, beta {B} degrees to y axis so that,
using the cross product of the points, the equation of the plane is: tan{A}tan{B}x +tan{A}y+tan{B}z +d=0
So tan{A} etc. are just constants, gradients, nothing tricky.
NB of course the line from earlier intersects this plane at, say point P, and since x=y=z, this would have
coordinates (p,p,p)
Now I have a point Q with coordinates(a,b,c) somewhere within the cube, and it intersects the plane.
This point dictates the value of d in the equation for the plane.
So, the question; looking in the plane of, well, the plane, so looking at the plane directly, we see the
points P&Q. A third point R is the same distance from P as Q, and gamma {Y} degrees from it (see
diagram)
My question is; given the two angles {A} & {B} to define the equation of the plane, and therefore the
value of p (coordinates of point P) , as well as the coordinates a,b,c of point Q, and the angle{Y}
between the lines PQ & PR what are the coordinates of R in terms of these variables?If it helps, but
only as a last resort,{A}&{B}are both 45 degrees.
Yahoo! Link

| Flippin' Hard 3D Vector Problem.nb

We define the points P, Q, R and the vectors PQ and PR. We define the plane by its normal vector.

= { }
= { }
= { }
= -
= -
= { }

The dot product of any plane point and pNormal will be a constant. (We dont solve for that constant.)
ptQpNormal = ptPpNormal = ptRpNormal
We use a couple of constants, k1, k2, to simplify the solution. These will be back-substituted later.

= {
[ ] [] / [[ ]]
[ ] []
}

There are 3 simultaneous equations.

(1) The cross product of PQ and PR is in the direction of pNormal and of magnitude
2

);
(2) The dot product of PQ and PR is PQ cos( \.08
(3) P, Q, and R satisfy the equation for the plane.

= {
[ ]


}

PQ

sin();

Flippin' Hard 3D Vector Problem.nb |

Here are the coordinate expressions in terms of pNormal, ptQ, k1 and k2.

+ +

++
(-+) +(-+) +(-+) []
+ +

(- + ) + (- + ) + (- + ) []
( + + ) ( ( - ) + ( - )) +
( + + ) ( (- + ) + ( - )) + + ( - ) +
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) +
( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) + - + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) + ( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) +
- + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )

- ( + + ) + + + - - ( + ) +

( + + ) ( ( - ) + (- + )) +
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) +
( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) + - + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) + ( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) +
- + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )
- ( + + ) ( + - ( + ) ) +
( + + ) ( - ) + ( ( - ) + ( - )) + (- + ) +
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) +
( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) + - + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )
( + + ) ( - ) ( - ) + ( (- + ) + ( - )) ( - ) +
- + - + +
+ - ( + ) + + + + - ( + )

| Flippin' Hard 3D Vector Problem.nb

Here, we use the given equation for the plane tan()tan()x + tan()y + tan()z + d = 0 to rewrite the
above expressions for the coordinates of P and R.

[]+[] (+ [])
[]+[] (+[])

- + [] []

(( + ( - ) []) [] + [] ( + ( - ) [] + [])) + []
( - ) [] + (- + ) [] [] + [] ( - + ( - ) [])
- + [] [] ([] + [] ( + []))
[] [] [] (- + + (- + ) []) + (- + ) [] [] +
- + [] []

(( + ( - ) []) [] + [] ( + ( + (- + ) []) []))

- + [] [] ([] + [] ( + []))
[] [] ( - ) [] [] + [] ( - + (- + ) []) +
- + [] []
( [] + [] ( + [] + [] (- + + (- + ) [])))
- + [] [] ([] + [] ( + []))

+
+
+

+
+
+

[] -

[] +

[] -

[] -

[] -

[] +

[] +

[]

[] -

[]

[] +

[]

[]

[]

[]

For the first test, we will use a plane that is parallel to the X-Y plane, = 0.
We define Q = {2, 3, 7}. This defines the plane of interest as z = 7.

= { [] }

These are the points P, Q, and R for this test case. Notice that the z-coordinate in each case is 7, so all
are in the plane z = 7.

Flippin' Hard 3D Vector Problem.nb |

{ }
{ }
{ - [] - [] - [] + [] }

In that plane, we can plot these points. We choose to plot the locus of all points R for values of
between 0 and 15/8.
Points P, Q, R in Plane Z = 7

Y
14

12

10

R @ 45

P
6

4
Q
2

10

12

14

For the second test, we will use a plane that has different non-zero values for and .
We continue to use Q = {2, 3, 7}.

= { [ / ] [] }

These are the points P, Q, and R for this test case.

{ }

- + [] +

- [] +

[]
[]

+ [] -

[]

In 3D space, we can plot these points. We choose to plot the locus of all points R for values of
between 0 and 15/8. Point R when = 45 is highlighted.

| Flippin' Hard 3D Vector Problem.nb

z
2

0
10
x

5
5
y
10
0

Shown is the generic solution and a couple of specific solutions to the flippin hard 3D vector problem.
The generic solution is shown (in all its complexity) because it isnt clear that the plane defined in the
problem statement can have any arbitrary orientation.