cylindrical coordinates [sǝ`lin·drǝ·kǝl ´kō`ȯrd·ǝn·ǝts] MATHEMATICS A system of curvilinear coordinates in which the position of a point in space is determined by its perpendicular distance from a given line, its distance from a selected reference plane perpendicular to this line, and its angular distance from a selected reference line when projected onto this plane. |