Common Plane Calculator

Linear 1 Linear 2
Data ID Azimuth plunge Azimuth plunge
S&D from 2 a.d. 200.000 35.000 130.000 25.000
Linear 1 Linear 2
Cos(alpha) Cos(beta) Cos(gamma) Cos(alpha) Cos(beta) Cos(gamma)
-0.280 -0.770 0.574 0.694 -0.583 0.423
Theta Theta
Angle(rad.s) Angle(deg.s)
1.051 60.243
Cross-product Cos(alpha) Cos(beta) Cos(gamma) Pole Pole
3D 0.010 0.595 0.804 Azimuth Plunge
Lower hemisphere 0.010 0.595 0.804 0.980 53.475

Plane True Dip Vector True Dip Vector True Dip Vector
Strike azimuth Dip Quadrant Azimuth Plunge Cos(gamma)
270.980 36.525 W 180.980 36.525 0.595
Usage
This spreadsheet calculates the strike and dip of a plane given two non-parallel linear attitudes that lie
in the plane. To use the spreadsheet, arrange your data into pairs of azimuth and plunge attitudes,
and type in a pair under the columns headed by "Linear 1" and "Linear 2". Note that the blue cells are
intended for data entry, whereas the magenta cells should be "protected" from accidental overtyping since they
contain the calculation formulae or important labels.
The calculated strike and dip answer appears at the lower portion of the sheet in a green color,
as are the calculated pole to the plane azimuth and plunge values.
Calculation Method
The calculation method converts the entered linear azimuth and plunge data into to directional cosines.
The directional cosines are the components of the linear vector projected to
a system of X,Y,Z orthogonal axes. The +X direction should be visualized as due east and horizontal, +Y as due north
and horizontal, and +Z as vertical and increasing down toward the center of the earth. Both linear vectors are used
to take the cross-product, thereby producing the components of the vector perpendicular to the plane that contains the
original two linear vectors. This cross-product vector is also the pole to the plane whose strike and dip we wish to
find. The rest of the calculation involves converting the directional cosines into strike and dip. The theta angle is merely
the angle between the two apparent dip vectors, which must be known before the cross-product is taken. The dot-product
of two vectors yields the angle between them- theta_S.