Creating a Polar Plot

To create a polar plot:

  1. Define a range variable for the range of values over which to plot the expression, for example

    θ := -2·π, -4.8 .. 2·π

  2. Choose Graph > Polar Plot from the Insert menu, or type [Ctrl] 7, to create a polar plot operator.
  3. Fill in the bottom middle placeholder with the angular range variable.
  4. Fill in the left placeholder with a radial expression to plot, for example, cos(θ).
  5. Click away from the plot or press [Enter]. One point is plotted for each value of the range variable and, unless you specify otherwise, they are connected with straight lines.

Polar plots are created by mapping r and θ onto x and y using the standard transformations:

x = r·cos(θ) and y = r·sin(θ),

where r and θ can assume positive or negative values. This means that negative radii are treated as a phase shift in angle, rather than extending the radial scale.

Notes:

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