Spherical coordinates are useful in analyzing systems that have some degree of symmetry about a point, such as the volume of the space inside a domed stadium or wind speeds in a planet's atmosphere. A sphere that has Cartesian equation x2+y2+z2=c2 has the simple equation ρ=c in spherical coordinates.

What are spherical coordinates used for?

Spherical coordinates determine the position of a point in three-dimensional space based on the distance ρ from the origin and two angles θ and ϕ. If one is familiar with polar coordinates, then the angle θ isn't too difficult to understand as it is essentially the same as the angle θ from polar coordinates.

Why do we prefer a spherical coordinate system?

Spherical coordinates are preferred over Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates when the geometry of the problem exhibits spherical symmetry. For example, in the Cartesian coordinate system, the surface of a sphere concentric with the origin requires all three coordinates (x, y, and z) to describe.