this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2023
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I thought right-hand rule with Z up as thumb was standard in science? You usually project on the xy-plane, for example when calculating the distance to objects on a flat surface.
I only know thumb = motion/current but now since you say, it's clear: people used x/y for 2D logically but the 2D plane used to be paper. which is parallel to the earth surface (usually). Computer screens are perpendicular so Y points up, not away from you.
So this makes sense with paper, TIL. With computers, Z traditionally means depth.