Thread: Calculating a Normal

  1. #1
    Registered User IdioticCreation's Avatar
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    Calculating a Normal

    I've done a lot of reading about how to find normals, but I just don't quite get it. My understanding so far is:

    To find the normal of triangle ABC.
    [a-b]x[b-c]

    I'm not sure how you subtract vectors.
    I'm don't understand how to find a cross product, mostly just because of the math symbols used.

    I just need someone to clarify these things for me.

    Thanks

  2. #2
    Registered User Tonto's Avatar
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    So cross product, given triange a (x1, y1, z1) b (x2, y2, z2) c (x3, y3, z3), you take any two vectors, the edges, which compose it

    Either

    ab and bc
    ac and ab
    ca and cb

    And take the cross product

    So, a, b, and c represent points in space (must be space, or in 2d, z is some constant)

    Cross product of ab and bc for example is ab x bc

    ab = <x2 - x1, y2 - y1, z2 - z1>
    bc = <x2 - x3, y2 - y3, z2 - z3>

    ab x bc = <(y2 - y1)(z2 - z3), (z2 - z1)(y2 - y3), (x2 - x1)(z2 - z3) - (z2 - z1)(x2 - x3), (x2 - x1)(y2 - y3) - (y2 - y1)(x2 - x3)>

    This is my vector class implementing such operations
    http://pokepong.svn.sourceforge.net/...pp?view=markup

  3. #3
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    And vector subtracting for a = b - c is just
    [ ax, ay, az ] = [ bx, by, bz ] - [ cx, cy, cz ] with component-wise subtraction, so the result is
    [ bx - cx, by - cy, bz - cz ]
    Last edited by CornedBee; 10-14-2007 at 06:21 AM. Reason: Messed up my vectors
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  4. #4
    Registered User IdioticCreation's Avatar
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    Aw, it seems so simple now! Thanks guys
    edit:
    wait..
    ab x bc = <(y2 - y1)(z2 - z3), (z2 - z1)(y2 - y3), (x2 - x1)(z2 - z3) - (z2 - z1)(x2 - x3), (x2 - x1)(y2 - y3) - (y2 - y1)(x2 - x3)>
    was that subtraction I bolded a mistake?
    Last edited by IdioticCreation; 10-14-2007 at 12:03 PM.

  5. #5
    Registered User Tonto's Avatar
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    I couldn't see what you posted but I missed a subtraction sign in the first vector components

    ab x bc = <(y2 - y1)(z2 - z3) - (z2 - z1)(y2 - y3), (x2 - x1)(z2 - z3) - (z2 - z1)(x2 - x3), (x2 - x1)(y2 - y3) - (y2 - y1)(x2 - x3)>

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