Translation (geometry) Translation (geometry) In Euclidean geometry, a translation is a geometric transformation that moves every point of a figure or a space by the same distance in a given direction. In Euclidean geometry a transformation is a one-to-one correspondence between two sets of points or a mapping from one plane to another. A translation can be described as a rigid motion: the other rigid motions are rotations, reflections and glide reflections. A translation can also be interpreted as the addition of a constant vector to every point, or as shifting the origin of the coordinate system. A translation operator is an
Distance from a point to a line length of this projection is given by: Now, thus Since "Q" is a point on the line, formula_27, and so, It is possible to produce another expression to find the shortest distance of a point to a line. This derivation also requires that the line is not vertical or horizontal. The point P is given with coordinates (formula_29). The equation of a line is given by formula_30. The equation of the normal of that line which passes through the point P is given formula_31. The point at which these two lines intersect is the closest point on the original line