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An affine map combines a linear map with a translation. After choosing coordinate origins, it has the form $T:{\mathbb{R}}^p\to {\mathbb{R}}^q$, $T(x)=Mx+b$, where the $q\times p$ matrix $M$ is its linear part of an affine map and $b$ is a fixed vector. Equivalently, it preserves every affine combination. ^[ref]

An original planar example isIt stretches horizontally, applies a shear mapping, and then translates. The vertices $A=(0,0)$, $B=(2,0)$ and $C=(0,2)$ become $A^{\prime }=(1,-2)$, $B^{\prime }=(5,-2)$ and $C^{\prime }=(3,0)$. A square grid becomes a grid of parallelograms; straight edges and their weighted points still fit together.

This map is not a linear map with respect to the displayed origins, because $T(0,0)=(1,-2)$ rather than zero. It also is not a Euclidean similarity: $AB$ has length $2$ and $A^{\prime }{B}^{\prime }$ has length $4$, while the right angle at $A$ becomes $45^{\circ }$. Its determinant is $2$, so it doubles planar area. These metric changes explain why affine geometry studies straightness, incidence and weighted points rather than treating every transformation as an isometry.

The linear part is an invertible matrix, giving the concise inverse $T^{-1}(u,v)=((u-v-3)/2,v+2)$. More generally an affine map is bijective exactly when its linear part of an affine map is bijective. Between equal finite-dimensional spaces, this means an invertible matrix; the translation cannot repair a loss of rank of a linear map.

A Euclidean similarity is a map $S:{\mathbb{R}}^n\to {\mathbb{R}}^n$ satisfying $|S(x)-S(y)|=c|x-y|$ for a fixed $c>0$. It has the form $S(x)=cRx+b$ with $R$ orthogonal: after subtracting $S(0)$ and dividing by $c$, the map fixes zero and preserves distances, hence inner products by polarization, so it is a linear orthogonal map. It is a contraction if $c<1$. Contracting Euclidean similarities define self-similar compact sets; the open set condition is a useful separation hypothesis for computing their Hausdorff dimension.

An invertible $4\times 4$ matrix $M$, modulo scalar multiples, acts linearly on homogeneous coordinates. In an affine chart its projective transformation has the formwhere the denominator must be nonzero for a finite image. The important nested groups are Euclidean motions, Euclidean similarities, invertible affine maps, and general projective transformations. Their defining preserved structures become progressively weaker.

A Euclidean motion has $x^{\prime }=Rx+b$ with $R^{T}R=I$. It preserves all distances and angles, hence lengths, areas and volumes. Proper motions have $\det R=1$ and preserve orientation as well; allowing reflections preserves unsigned measurements but can reverse signed ones. A Euclidean similarity has $x^{\prime }=sRx+b$ with $s>0$. It preserves angles and all ratios of lengths; lengths, areas and volumes scale by $s,s^2,s^3$. Thus rigid shape is preserved up to one overall scale.

An invertible affine map has $c=0$ and preserves the plane at infinity. It preserves incidence, parallelism, collinear ratios, affine combinations, and ratios of volumes. Absolute volume scales by $|\det A|$; the volume-preserving affine subgroup has $|\det A|=1$. Lengths and angles are not affine invariants. A general projective transformation preserves incidence, collinearity, concurrence, tangency, and the cross-ratio of four collinear points, but can move the plane at infinity. The cross-ratio, rather than a three-point affine ratio, survives arbitrary projective changes. For a homogeneous quadric hypersurface $X^{T}QX=0$, its transformed matrix is $M^{-T}Q{M}^{-1}$, so its rank and projective degeneracy are preserved.

For surface classes, rather than a fixed numerical radius or curvature, the consequences are:

For example, the affine stretch $(x,y,z)\mapsto (2x,y,z)$ changes a unit sphere to $x^{\prime 2}/4+y^{\prime 2}+z^{\prime 2}=1$ and a unit circular cylinder to $x^{\prime 2}/4+y^{\prime 2}=1$. A general conical surface written $P+tD(s)$ transforms affinely into $T(P)+tAD(s)$, so every generator still passes through a finite apex. A nonsingular elliptic paraboloid or hyperbolic paraboloid has quadratic part of rank two and a nonzero linear component in its null direction. An invertible affine map preserves that rank, inertia and nonzero null-direction coupling, so translation and linear coordinate changes again put it in elliptic or hyperbolic paraboloid form.

Under a genuinely projective change, these Euclidean classifications depend on which plane is designated as infinity. For the map $(x,y,z)\mapsto (x,y,z)/(1+\alpha z)$, a circular cylinder $x^2+y^2=1$ becomesa cone whose apex is finite. The inverse map sends that apex to infinity and produces the cylinder. Thus a cone is projectively invariant as a family of concurrent generators if an ideal apex is allowed, but finite-apex cones and cylinders are not separately invariant. Likewise a projective image of a sphere or either type of paraboloid remains a nonsingular quadric hypersurface, but need not retain its affine or metric type. The distinction between general cones and circular cones matters: circularity is a metric property and is not preserved by arbitrary affine changes.

Under the open set condition there is a nonempty bounded open set $O$ such that the sets $S_i(O)$ are pairwise disjoint and all contained in $O$. The Hausdorff dimension of the nonempty compact invariant set is the unique $s\ge 0$ satisfyingFor the carpet here the 24 retained sub-squares give Euclidean similarities $S_{ij}(x,y)=((x+i)/5,(y+j)/5)$ for $0\le i,j\le 4$, $(i,j)\ne (2,2)$. Their images of $O=(0,1{)}^2$ are disjoint and lie in $O$, so the condition holds even though some closed images share boundary points. All contraction factors are $1/5$. Thus

Two triangles are similar if a Euclidean similarity maps one onto the other. Their corresponding angles agree, and corresponding side lengths have a common positive ratio.

Specify the correspondence first: $A$ matches $A^{\prime }$, $B$ matches $B^{\prime }$ and $C$ matches $C^{\prime }$. For similar triangles, the common scale factor $k>0$ satisfiesThe ratios compare matching sides in the same order. A Euclidean similarity can also move, turn or reflect the triangle; its orientation on the page is irrelevant. In the Euclidean plane, matching just two interior angles is enough: their sums force the third to match, and equal corresponding angles force the side ratios to agree. This is the angle-angle (AA) criterion for similar triangles. Matching just one angle is insufficient.

Scale the right triangle with vertices $(0,0)$, $(4,0)$ and $(0,3)$ by $k=2$. Its new vertices are $(0,0)$, $(8,0)$ and $(0,6)$, and its side lengths are $6,8,10$. The matching side ratios are $6/3=8/4=10/5=2$. Both triangles have a right angle and the same two other interior angles, approximately $36.87^{\circ }$ and $53.13^{\circ }$. However, their areas are $3\cdot 4/2=6$ and $6\cdot 8/2=24$: doubling lengths multiplies area by four.

Generally, a Euclidean similarity multiplies both a base and its perpendicular height by $k$, so the area becomes $\frac{1}{2}(kb)(kh)=k^2\frac{1}{2}bh$. This explains why an enlarged drawing needs four times as much surface when each length doubles. It also enables indirect measurement: under assumptions of level ground, vertical objects and parallel light rays, an object of height $3$ casting a shadow of length $4$ provides a right triangle. Another object's shadow of length $8$ gives a similar triangle and height $3(8/4)=6$. The shared angles justify the inference; visual resemblance alone does not.

Euclid's Elements VI, Definition 1 describes similarity using corresponding angles and proportional sides. VI.4 establishes the implication from matching angles to matching side ratios, while VI.19 states the squared relation between side ratios and areas. These are documented ancient formulations of the principles used above, without establishing a first discoverer.^{[ref][ref][ref]}

A solid angle measures how much of the surrounding directions a region occupies, as seen from a specified point $O$. Draw a sphere of radius $R$ centered at $O$ and mark where those directions meet its surface. If the marked patch has surface area $A_R$, thenA Euclidean similarity scales both $A_R$ and $R^2$ by the same factor, so the chosen radius does not affect the answer. On the unit two-sphere, the numerical value is simply the patch's surface area. Unlike an angle drawn in one plane, a solid angle measures coverage in two angular directions.

For example, the full sphere has surface area $4\pi R^2$ and hence solid angle $4\pi$ steradians. A hemisphere occupies $2\pi$ steradians. Three mutually perpendicular coordinate planes divide the directions into eight congruent pieces, so each octant occupies $4\pi /8=\pi /2$ steradians. A solid angle of one steradian therefore covers $1/(4\pi )\approx 7.96\%$ of all directions, rather than one full turn.

This makes a geometric question answer a collection question. For an ideal point emitter with isotropy, equal solid angles carry equal radiant flux. A detector accepting directions of total solid angle $\Omega$ intercepts the fraction $\Omega /(4\pi )$ of that emitted radiant flux, before losses. With direction-dependent radiant intensity $I$, the accepted radiant flux is instead $\int Id\Omega$. The solid angle of a disk below gives an exact example where the familiar inverse-square law is only a distant-source approximation.