Ellipsoidal coordinates

Ellipsoidal coordinates are a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system ( λ , μ , ν ) {displaystyle (lambda ,mu , u )} that generalizes the two-dimensional elliptic coordinate system. Unlike most three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate systems that feature quadratic coordinate surfaces, the ellipsoidal coordinate system is based on confocal quadrics. Ellipsoidal coordinates are a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system ( λ , μ , ν ) {displaystyle (lambda ,mu , u )} that generalizes the two-dimensional elliptic coordinate system. Unlike most three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate systems that feature quadratic coordinate surfaces, the ellipsoidal coordinate system is based on confocal quadrics. The Cartesian coordinates ( x , y , z ) {displaystyle (x,y,z)} can be produced from the ellipsoidal coordinates ( λ , μ , ν ) {displaystyle (lambda ,mu , u )} by the equations