Question

Explain the cross product of two vectors.

Answer 1

The cross product ($\overrightarrow{a}\times \overrightarrow{b}$) of two vectors $\overrightarrow{a}$ and $\overrightarrow{b}$ is another vector that is at right angles to both these vectors.

We can calculate the cross product as:
$|\overrightarrow{a}\times \overrightarrow{b}|=|\overrightarrow{a}||\overrightarrow{b}|sin\left(\theta \right)$
Here, $|\overrightarrow{a}|$ is the magnitude of vector $\overrightarrow{a}$.
$|\overrightarrow{b}|$ is the magnitude of vector $\overrightarrow{b}$.
$\theta$ is the angle between $\overrightarrow{a}$ and $\overrightarrow{b}$.
The direction is given by right-hand rule.