Orthogonal projection

Orthogonal projection is a way of translating a point in space onto a flat surface or line such that the shortest distance between the point and the surface is minimized. Imagine shining a light directly perpendicular to a surface from a point; the shadow cast by the point on the surface is the orthogonal projection. In mathematical terms, it involves dropping a perpendicular from the point to the surface or line, resulting in a projected point that preserves some features while simplifying the original data or vector. This technique is fundamental in fields like computer graphics, data analysis, and geometry.