Orthogonality Illustrated
In the applet below, vectors u and v are said to be orthogonal.
Move the BIG WHITE POINTS around.
As you do, make a list of 4-5 pairs of orthogonal vectors.
Then, find the dot product of each pair of orthogonal vectors. What do you get?
Measure the angle between vectors u and v. What do you get? Why does this result not surprise you?
Orthogonal vectors are actually defined in terms of their dot product. What is the dot product of any pair of orthogonal vectors?
Why is would it be incorrect to define orthogonal vectors as "perpendicular vectors"? Explain.