Translation (geometry)

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A translation moves every point of a figure or a space by the same amount in a given direction.

A reflection against an axis followed by a reflection against a second axis parallel to the first one results in a total motion which is a translation.

In Euclidean geometry, a translation is moving every point a constant distance in a specified direction. It is one of the rigid motions (other rigid motions include rotation and reflection). A translation can also be interpreted as the addition of a constant vector to every point, or as shifting the origin of the coordinate system. A translation operator is an operator such that

If v is a fixed vector, then the translation T_v will work as T_v(p) = p + v.

If T is a translation, then the image of a subset A under the function T is the translate of A by T. The translate of A by T_v is often written A + v.

In a Euclidean space, any translation is an isometry. The set of all translations forms the translation group T, which is isomorphic to the space itself, and a normal subgroup of Euclidean group E(n ). The quotient group of E(n ) by T is isomorphic to the orthogonal group O(n ):

E(n ) / T ≅ O(n ).

[edit] External links

• Translation Transform at cut-the-knot
• Geometric Translation (Interactive Animation) at Math Is Fun
• Understanding 2D Translation and Understanding 3D Translation by Roger Germundsson, The Wolfram Demonstrations Project.