What is Pitch, yaw, and roll?
[[File:6DOF en.jpg|thumb|250px|The six degrees of freedom: forward/back, up/down, left/right, pitch, yaw, roll]] <!--- the image in the following line shows a wrong orientation of the roll angle ---> <!--- [[File:Flight dynamics with text ortho.svg|thumb|250px|pitch, roll and yaw in an aircraft]] ---> <!--- this image from the article https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aircraft_principal_axes shows the correct angles ---> [[Image:Yaw Axis Corrected.svg|thumb|250px|The position of all three axes, with the [[right-hand rule]] for describing the angle of its rotations]] '''Pitch''', '''yaw''' and '''roll''' are the three dimensions of movement when an object moves through a medium. The terms may be used to describe an [[aeroplane]]'s movements through the air. They are also applied to [[watercraft]] moving through water, and [[spacecraft]] moving through space. There are in fact [[:en:Six_degrees_of_freedom|six degrees of freedom]] of a rigid body moving in three-dimensional space.<ref>Each dimension can move either way.</ref> As the movement along each of the three axes is independent of each other and independent of the rotation about any of these axes, the motion has six degrees of freedom (see diagram). ;pitch: nose up or tail up. ;yaw: nose moves from side to side ;roll: a circular (clockwise or anticlockwise) movement of the body as it moves forward The surfaces of a plane and the fins of a fish have a similar function. They serve to adjust the object's attitude as it moves through the fluid.<ref>McNeil Alexander R. ''Functional design in fishes''. London: Hutchinson, p37.</ref> [[Submarines]] face the same dynamic control problems as fish do. The subject is often taught under '''degrees of freedom ([[mechanics]])'''. This is the number of independent motions that are allowed to the body. == References == {{reflist}} {{-}} {{math-stub}} [[Category:Mechanics]]