Unit Vector in Direction of Vector
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Theorem
Let $\mathbf v$ be a vector quantity.
The unit vector $\mathbf {\hat v}$ in the direction of $\mathbf v$ is:
- $\mathbf {\hat v} = \dfrac {\mathbf v} {\norm {\mathbf v} }$
where $\norm {\mathbf v}$ is the magnitude of $\mathbf v$.
Proof
From Vector Quantity as Scalar Product of Unit Vector Quantity:
- $\mathbf v = \norm {\mathbf v} \mathbf {\hat v}$
whence the result.
$\blacksquare$
Also presented as
This result is often seen presented as:
- $\mathbf {\hat v} = \dfrac {\mathbf v} v$
as in this context $v$ is usually understood as being the magnitude of $\mathbf v$.
Sources
- 1990: I.S. Grant and W.R. Phillips: Electromagnetism (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: Force and energy in electrostatics: $1.1$ Electric Charge
- 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): unit vector