Scalar Product
Definition
The scalar product, also known as dot product, is a mathematical operation that takes two vectors and returns a scalar quantity. It measures how much of one vector acts in the direction of another vector.
Analogy
Think of two people playing tug-of-war with a rope. The scalar product would represent how much force each person exerts along the direction of pull (parallel to the rope), rather than sideways or at an angle.
Related terms
Vector Product (Cross Product): The vector product, also known as cross product, is another mathematical operation involving vectors. Unlike scalar product which results in a scalar quantity, vector product produces another vector perpendicular to both input vectors.
Magnitude of Vector: The magnitude of a vector refers to its size or length. It is a scalar quantity that represents the distance or strength of the vector.
Unit Vector: A unit vector is a vector with a magnitude of 1. It is often used to represent direction and can be multiplied by a scalar to indicate magnitude and direction simultaneously.
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