Curl of a Vector

In vector calculus, the curl (or rotor) is a vector operator that describes the rotation of a vector field. At every point in the field, the curl is represented by a vector. The attributes of this vector (length and direction) characterize the rotation at that point.

The direction of the curl is the axis of rotation, as determined by the right-hand rule, and the magnitude of the curl is the magnitude of rotation. If the vector field represents the flow velocity of a moving fluid, then the curl is the circulation density of the fluid. A vector field whose curl is zero is called irrotational. The curl is a form of differentiation for vector fields. The corresponding form of the fundamental theorem of calculus is Stokes' theorem, which relates the surface integral of the curl of a vector field to the line integral of the vector field around the boundary curve. - Wikipedia

"Ñ" is a vector and is pronounced "del." The vector function is A(x,y,z), A(r,Φ,z), or A(r,θ,Φ)

Cartesian Coordinates

Cylindrical Coordinates

Spherical Coordinates

Webmaster: Kirt Blattenberger, BSEE, UVM 1989