[Math] Intersection of two planes through the origin [GStrang P129, 3.1.15(a)]

linear algebra

The intersecton for two planes through $(0, 0, 0)$ is probably a line but it could be a
point.
$\Large{\color{red}{[}}$ It can't be the vector space that consists only of a zero vector. $\Large{{\color{red}{]}}}$

I don't perceive the red bracket. Don't the olive and grey plane in this sketch intersect only at the origin in orange?

enter image description here
This question precedes nullspace, rank, REF, $\mathbf{Ax = b}$, linear independence, span, basis, dimension, dimensions/theorems of the 4 subspaces, Orthogonality, Determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and linear transformations. Please omit them.

Best Answer

Generally when people talk about planes in three dimensions, they mean a set of the form $P=\{ x \in \mathbb{R}^3 | n^T x = d\}$, where $n \in \mathbb{R}^3$ is a fixed non-zero vector and $d \in \mathbb{R}$.

A plane is infinite in extent as $\ker n^T$ is two dimensional, and the point $x_0={d \over \|n\|^2} n \in P$, so $x_0+k \in P$ for any $k \in \ker n^T$.

If the plane passes through the origin, it is easy to see that the corresponding $d$ above must be zero.

The intersection of two planes that pass through the origin will be given by $L = P_1 \cap P_2$, where $P_k = \{ x \in \mathbb{R}^3 | n_k^T x = 0\}$. We can write $L = \{ x \in \mathbb{R}^3 | n_1^T x = 0, n_2^T x = 0\} = \ker N^T$, where $N = \begin{bmatrix} n_1 & n_2 \end{bmatrix}$.

If the planes are different (equivalently $n_1, n_2$ do not lie on the same line), then $n_1, n_2$ are linearly independent, and $\dim \ker N^T = 1$, hence $L$ is a line of infinite extent passing through the origin.

You can always choose subsets $S_1, S_2$ of $P_1, P_2$ so that $S_1$ and $S_2$ only intersect at the origin, but then $S_1,S_2$ will not be planes in the usual sense.

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