Rectangular to Polar Coordinates Calculator

About this calculator

Converting between rectangular (Cartesian) coordinates (x, y) and polar coordinates (r, θ) uses r = √(x² + y²) for the distance from the origin and θ = atan2(y, x) for the angle from the positive x-axis, with atan2 correctly resolving the quadrant that a plain arctangent can't. The two systems describe the exact same point, just with different reference frames — one grid-based, one distance-and-angle-based.

Electrical engineers use this conversion constantly for AC circuit analysis (impedance and phasors are natural in polar form but added in rectangular form), while robotics engineers, game developers, and physicists switch between the two whenever a problem is more naturally expressed as a distance-and-direction rather than a grid position.