Unit vector and Probability space: Difference between pages

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imported>Calsem
(I rewrote part of the article to be simpler and added in how to make a unit vector)
 
imported>Thrasymedes
m (→‎top: Typo fixing, typos fixed: probablity → probability using AWB)
 
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A '''unit vector''' is any [[vector]] that is one unit in length.
[[File:Probability-measure.svg|thumb|Modelling a wheel of fortune using probability space]]
'''Probability space''' is a [[mathematical model]] used to describe [[scientific]] [[experiments]] A probability space consists of three parts:
# A [[sample space]] which lists all possible outcomes
# A [[set]] of events. Each event associates zero or more outcomes
# A [[Function (mathematics)|function]] that assigns probabilities to each event


Unit vectors are often notated the same way as normal vectors, but with a mark over the letter (e.g. <math alt="a-hat">\mathbf{\hat{a}}</math> is the unit vector of '''a'''.)
An ''outcome'' is the result of a single execution of the model. Since individual outcomes might be of little practical use, more complex ''events'' are used to characterize groups of outcomes. The collection of all such events is a ''[[σ-algebra]]'' <math>\scriptstyle \mathcal{F}</math>. Finally, there is a need to specify each event's likelihood of happening. This is done using the ''[[probability measure]]'' function, ''P''.


To make a vector into a unit vector, divide it by its length: <math>\widehat{u} = u / \lVert u \rVert</math>
Once the probability space is established, it is assumed that “nature” makes its move and selects a single outcome, ''ω'', from the sample space Ω. All the events in <math>\scriptstyle \mathcal{F}</math> that contain the selected outcome ''ω'' (recall that each event is a subset of Ω) are said to “have occurred”. The selection performed by nature is done in such a way that if the experiment were to be repeated an infinite number of times, the relative frequencies of occurrence of each of the events would coincide with the probabilities prescribed by the function ''P''.


== In component form ==
The prominent Soviet mathematician [[Andrey Kolmogorov]] introduced the notion of probability space, together with other [[axioms of probability]], in the 1930s.
Three common unit vectors used in component form are <math alt="i-hat">\mathbf{\hat{i}}</math>, <math alt="j-hat">\mathbf{\hat{j}}</math> and <math alt="k-hat">\mathbf{\hat{k}}</math>, referring to the unit vectors for the x-, y- and z-axes respectively. They are commonly just notated as '''i''', '''j''' and '''k'''.


They can be written as the following:
[[Category:Mathematics]]
<math alt="Components i,j and k">\mathbf{\hat{i}} = \begin{bmatrix}1 & 0 & 0\end{bmatrix}, \,\, \mathbf{\hat{j}} = \begin{bmatrix}0 & 1 & 0\end{bmatrix}, \,\, \mathbf{\hat{k}} = \begin{bmatrix}0 & 0 & 1\end{bmatrix}</math>
 
[[Category:Linear algebra]]

Latest revision as of 19:23, 8 November 2016

File:Probability-measure.svg
Modelling a wheel of fortune using probability space

Probability space is a mathematical model used to describe scientific experiments A probability space consists of three parts:

  1. A sample space which lists all possible outcomes
  2. A set of events. Each event associates zero or more outcomes
  3. A function that assigns probabilities to each event

An outcome is the result of a single execution of the model. Since individual outcomes might be of little practical use, more complex events are used to characterize groups of outcomes. The collection of all such events is a σ-algebra [math]\displaystyle{ \scriptstyle \mathcal{F} }[/math]. Finally, there is a need to specify each event's likelihood of happening. This is done using the probability measure function, P.

Once the probability space is established, it is assumed that “nature” makes its move and selects a single outcome, ω, from the sample space Ω. All the events in [math]\displaystyle{ \scriptstyle \mathcal{F} }[/math] that contain the selected outcome ω (recall that each event is a subset of Ω) are said to “have occurred”. The selection performed by nature is done in such a way that if the experiment were to be repeated an infinite number of times, the relative frequencies of occurrence of each of the events would coincide with the probabilities prescribed by the function P.

The prominent Soviet mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov introduced the notion of probability space, together with other axioms of probability, in the 1930s.