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Plateau (mathematics)
A plateau of a function is a part of its domain where the function has constant value. More formally, let ''U'', ''V'' be topological spaces. A plateau for a function ''f'': ''U'' → ''V'' is a path-connected set of points ''P'' of ''U'' such that for some ''y'' we have :''f'' (''p'') = ''y'' for all ''p'' in ''P''. Examples Plateaus can be observed in mathematical models as well as natural systems. In nature, plateaus can be observed in physical, chemical and biological systems. An example of an observed plateau in the natural world is in the tabulation of biodiversity of life through time. See also *Level set *Contour line *Minimal surface In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface that locally minimizes its area. This is equivalent to having zero mean curvature (see definitions below). The term "minimal surface" is used because these surfaces originally arose as surfaces that ... References Topology {{topology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Function (mathematics)
In mathematics, a function from a set to a set assigns to each element of exactly one element of .; the words map, mapping, transformation, correspondence, and operator are often used synonymously. The set is called the domain of the function and the set is called the codomain of the function.Codomain ''Encyclopedia of Mathematics'Codomain. ''Encyclopedia of Mathematics''/ref> The earliest known approach to the notion of function can be traced back to works of Persian mathematicians Al-Biruni and Sharaf al-Din al-Tusi. Functions were originally the idealization of how a varying quantity depends on another quantity. For example, the position of a planet is a ''function'' of time. Historically, the concept was elaborated with the infinitesimal calculus at the end of the 17th century, and, until the 19th century, the functions that were considered were differentiable (that is, they had a high degree of regularity). The concept of a function was formalized at the end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Domain Of A Function
In mathematics, the domain of a function is the set of inputs accepted by the function. It is sometimes denoted by \operatorname(f) or \operatornamef, where is the function. More precisely, given a function f\colon X\to Y, the domain of is . Note that in modern mathematical language, the domain is part of the definition of a function rather than a property of it. In the special case that and are both subsets of \R, the function can be graphed in the Cartesian coordinate system. In this case, the domain is represented on the -axis of the graph, as the projection of the graph of the function onto the -axis. For a function f\colon X\to Y, the set is called the codomain, and the set of values attained by the function (which is a subset of ) is called its range or image. Any function can be restricted to a subset of its domain. The restriction of f \colon X \to Y to A, where A\subseteq X, is written as \left. f \_A \colon A \to Y. Natural domain If a real function is giv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topological Space
In mathematics, a topological space is, roughly speaking, a geometrical space in which closeness is defined but cannot necessarily be measured by a numeric distance. More specifically, a topological space is a set whose elements are called points, along with an additional structure called a topology, which can be defined as a set of neighbourhoods for each point that satisfy some axioms formalizing the concept of closeness. There are several equivalent definitions of a topology, the most commonly used of which is the definition through open sets, which is easier than the others to manipulate. A topological space is the most general type of a mathematical space that allows for the definition of limits, continuity, and connectedness. Common types of topological spaces include Euclidean spaces, metric spaces and manifolds. Although very general, the concept of topological spaces is fundamental, and used in virtually every branch of modern mathematics. The study of topological spac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Path-connected
In topology and related branches of mathematics, a connected space is a topological space that cannot be represented as the union of two or more disjoint non-empty open subsets. Connectedness is one of the principal topological properties that are used to distinguish topological spaces. A subset of a topological space X is a if it is a connected space when viewed as a subspace of X. Some related but stronger conditions are path connected, simply connected, and n-connected. Another related notion is ''locally connected'', which neither implies nor follows from connectedness. Formal definition A topological space X is said to be if it is the union of two disjoint non-empty open sets. Otherwise, X is said to be connected. A subset of a topological space is said to be connected if it is connected under its subspace topology. Some authors exclude the empty set (with its unique topology) as a connected space, but this article does not follow that practice. For a topological s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Level Set
In mathematics, a level set of a real-valued function of real variables is a set where the function takes on a given constant value , that is: : L_c(f) = \left\~, When the number of independent variables is two, a level set is called a level curve, also known as ''contour line'' or ''isoline''; so a level curve is the set of all real-valued solutions of an equation in two variables and . When , a level set is called a level surface (or ''isosurface''); so a level surface is the set of all real-valued roots of an equation in three variables , and . For higher values of , the level set is a level hypersurface, the set of all real-valued roots of an equation in variables. A level set is a special case of a fiber. Alternative names Level sets show up in many applications, often under different names. For example, an implicit curve is a level curve, which is considered independently of its neighbor curves, emphasizing that such a curve is defined by an implicit e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contour Line
A contour line (also isoline, isopleth, or isarithm) of a function of two variables is a curve along which the function has a constant value, so that the curve joins points of equal value. It is a plane section of the three-dimensional graph of the function f(x,y) parallel to the (x,y)-plane. More generally, a contour line for a function of two variables is a curve connecting points where the function has the same particular value. In cartography, a contour line (often just called a "contour") joins points of equal elevation (height) above a given level, such as mean sea level. A contour map is a map illustrated with contour lines, for example a topographic map, which thus shows valleys and hills, and the steepness or gentleness of slopes. The contour interval of a contour map is the difference in elevation between successive contour lines. The gradient of the function is always perpendicular to the contour lines. When the lines are close together the magnitude of the grad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minimal Surface
In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface that locally minimizes its area. This is equivalent to having zero mean curvature (see definitions below). The term "minimal surface" is used because these surfaces originally arose as surfaces that minimized total surface area subject to some constraint. Physical models of area-minimizing minimal surfaces can be made by dipping a wire frame into a soap solution, forming a soap film, which is a minimal surface whose boundary is the wire frame. However, the term is used for more general surfaces that may self-intersect or do not have constraints. For a given constraint there may also exist several minimal surfaces with different areas (for example, see minimal surface of revolution): the standard definitions only relate to a local optimum, not a global optimum. Definitions Minimal surfaces can be defined in several equivalent ways in R3. The fact that they are equivalent serves to demonstrate how minimal surface theory lies at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
