What is a vector? - David Huynh
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-a-vector-david-huynh Physicists, air traffic controllers, and video game creators all have at least one thing in common: vectors. But what...
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Physicists, air traffic controllers, and video game creators all have at least one thing in common: vectors. What exactly are they, and why do they matter? To answer, we first need to understand scalars. A scalar is a quantity with magnitude. It tells us how much of something there is. The distance between you and a bench, and the volume and temperature of the beverage in your cup are all described by scalars. Vector quantities also have a magnitude plus an extra piece of information, direction. To navigate to your bench, you need to know how far away it is and in what direction, not just the distance, but the displacement. What makes vectors special and useful in all sorts of fields is that they don't change based on perspective but remain ...
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Physicists, air traffic controllers, and video game creators all have at least one thing in common: vectors. What exactly are they, and why do they matter? To answer, we first need to understand scalars. A scalar is a quantity with magnitude. It tells us how much of something there is. The distance between you and a bench, and the volume and temperature of the beverage in your cup are all described by scalars. Vector quantities also have a magnitude plus an extra piece of information, direction. To navigate to your bench, you need to know how far away it is and in what direction, not just the distance, but the displacement. What makes vectors special and useful in all sorts of fields is that they don't change based on perspective but remain ...
