Pitch, yaw, and roll

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 six degrees of freedom of a rigid body moving in three-dimensional space.Three rotations axes (pitch, yaw and roll), and three translation axes (forward-back, left-right, up-down).

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.McNeil Alexander R. Functional design in fishes. London: Hutchinson, p37. 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.

 Related pages 
 Right-hand rule

 References 

Category:Mechanics