Here, we'll explore some other applications that extend the polar system, and see how this system is well suited for the tasks.
An Air Traffic Controller is a perfect example of an application of polar coordinates. A control tower for an airport is a perfectly suited origin: everyone in the immediate sky is either approaching or departing this central location, so everyone is aware of its location. Bearings are determined as before, but with the additional information of the altitude of each plane, and the direction it is heading. Such an extended system, a two dimension polar with an additional dimension in rectangular, is called a cylindrical system. The information presented in the tower is each planes' altitude, heading, and bearing, with very complex rules as to which planes have priorities, and how far each much be from its neighbor.
Surveying is very important and under appreciated as career. Essentially, a surveyor determines the topology of an area by standing in a place and making precise measurements. On one hand a surveyor may be called to settle questions of boundary. Given a set of legal descriptions denoting landmarks, the surveyor then uses precise instruments, including GPS, laser sights, and optics to measure and mark the boundaries. Additonally, surveyors are called upon to determine the suitablity of a landscape for a construction project. They may determine the amount of grading a land needs before construction, and shape the development of the construction. Polar systems are used as the surveyor is often stationary, makes his or her measurements, and then translates those to whatever presentation need for the contract.
Whether on ship or by plane, a navigator is one of the most important crew members, and for obvious reasons. The polar system is used almost exclusively in these situations, for the reasons discussed in the instructional unit. A navigator must pay attention not just to bearing, but also the the headings and velocities of the other vessels in the area. Now more likely to use GPS and radio transponders for information, and understanding of the underlying math is necessary to interpret the data, and to make judgements a computer is ill-suited to make.
Physics is math in the real world, and relies heavily upon math. As discussed in the instructional unit, the polar system is very native to how the universe is observed, and it can be said that the rigorous development of the polar system was one of the priniciple elements allowing for the advancement of physics. Take, for example, an astronomer. In this case, the astronomer is detecting emissions from a distant body. These emissions may be visible light, but, more often thatn not, are other wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as radio waves, infrared, microwave, etc. Again, the data is received at a central location, with the telecope fixed, but able to change angle, and so to develop the math around the data, an astronomer can piece together the workings of the universe on a scale of billions of miles, and millions of years. Reference here is often made in a spherical polar system. An astronomer may find it irrelevant the 'height' of an object, but is instead interested in finding its azimuth, its two angle directions. This is similar to the navigation system using latitude and langitude.
Similarly, a microscopist does the same for a small scale. Using electron beams, a microsopist can project a beam, and determine the structure and composition of elements not much bigger than a single molecule. Again, the electron beam generator is in a fixed position, and changes its angle to "paint" the sample with a stream of electrons.