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Scalar Projection


The scalar projection of a vector a onto a nonzero vector b is the signed length

 comp_(b)a=(a·b)/(||b||).

It equals ||a||costheta, where theta is the angle from b to a. In contrast, the vector projection is a vector in the direction of b and is obtained by multiplying the scalar projection by b/||b||.


See also

Dot Product, Projection, Vector Projection

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References

Marsden, J. E. and Tromba, A. J. Vector Calculus, 5th ed. New York: W. H. Freeman, 2003.

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Scalar Projection." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ScalarProjection.html

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