Cartesian Co-ordinates

Cartesian Co-ordinates

An example of 3 point axis (X,Y,Z)

Cartesian is a co-ordinate system which shows points on a graph. On a graph there is two points which were made up, X and Y. The X value represents where the point is horizontally (left and right) so the Y value would represent the vertical value (up and down). This theory was invented by Rene Descartes. The proper explanation for his invention  was "allowing reference to a point in space as a set of numbers, and allowing algebraic equations to be expressed as geometric shapes in a two-dimensional coordinate system". The co-ordinate system has been around since the 17th Century and has been adapted from then to now. This is important today because this co-ordinate system is used today for nearly all 3d modelling software. A key thing added to the system was the value for depth or 3d space. It was thought the 3 point axis was needed as there was no way to display a number in 3d space so the Z axis was invented. The Z axis represents horizontal but a different direction to X (forward and back). The axis are all at a 90 degree angle and are simple for people to use.

Axis picture with the origin point 

Origin
The origin point is the most central point in a co-ordinate system. In a 2 point axis is it point (0X,0Y). In a 3 point axis it the same but with the Z co-ordinate so (0X,0Y,0Z). It is known as the area where the axis is the system intersect.