Read · 1 min
A line is a set of points of constant direction, up to sign. More precisely, a line is a set of points such that there exists a nonzero vector such that for any two distinct points on the line, is a vector either in the direction of or . Algebraically, a line is just a set of the form , where is any point on the line and is in the direction of .
The ray starting from (in the direction ) is the set of points .
The dilation/scaling/homothety centered at with nonzero ratio/factor is the transformation (mapping) sending a point to . Note that it fixes the point (sends it to itself). (Why should ?)
To define the half-planes to the left (above) or right (below) a nonzero vector , we'll need to rely on orientation from the previous section. But with orientation it's easy: the half-plane to the left (or above) is the set of points left of . The half-plane to the right (or below) is the set of points right of .