68 Chapter 2 Force Systems

In more general terms, if n is a unit vector in a specified direction,

the projection of F in the n-direction, Fig. 2/19b, has the magnitude
Fn  F 䡠 n. If we want to express the projection in the n-direction as a
vector quantity, then we multiply its scalar component, expressed by
F 䡠 n, by the unit vector n to give Fn  (F 䡠 n)n. We may write this as
Fn  F 䡠 nn without ambiguity because the term nn is not defined, and
so the complete expression cannot be misinterpreted as F 䡠 (nn).
If the direction cosines of n are , , and , then we may write n in
vector component form like any other vector as

n  i  j  k

where in this case its magnitude is unity. If the direction cosines of F

with respect to reference axes x-y-z are l, m, and n, then the projection
of F in the n-direction becomes

Fn  F 䡠 n  F(li  mj  nk) 䡠 (i  j  k)

 F(l  m  n )

because
i 䡠 i  j 䡠 j  k 䡠 k 1
and
i䡠j  j䡠i  i䡠k  k䡠i  j䡠k  k䡠j  0

The latter two sets of equations are true because i, j, and k have unit
length and are mutually perpendicular.

Angle between Two Vectors

If the angle between the force F and the direction specified by the
unit vector n is , then from the dot-product definition we have F 䡠 n 
Fn cos   F cos , where 兩n兩  n  1. Thus, the angle between F and n
is given by

F䡠n
  cos1 (2/13)
F

In general, the angle between any two vectors P and Q is

P䡠Q
  cos1 (2/13a)
P PQ

If a force F is perpendicular to a line whose direction is specified by the

unit vector n, then cos   0, and F 䡠 n  0. Note that this relationship
does not mean that either F or n is zero, as would be the case with
scalar multiplication where (A)(B)  0 requires that either A or B (or
P′
α both) be zero.
Q The dot-product relationship applies to nonintersecting vectors as
well as to intersecting vectors. Thus, the dot product of the noninter-
secting vectors P and Q in Fig. 2/20 is Q times the projection of P⬘ on Q,
or P⬘Q cos   PQ cos  because P⬘ and P are the same when treated as
Figure 2/20 free vectors.