The Principle of Mathematical Induction: Applications in Physical Optics

Figure 1

(a) Two randomly oriented vectors and in a plane; (b) parallelogram law: the resultant lies along the diagonal of the parallelogram whose adjacent sides are formed by the vectors and ; (c) triangle law: the resultant lies along the third side of the triangle whose first and second sides are formed by the vectors and .

(a)

(b)

(c)