Covariance And Contravariance Of Vectors
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Covariance And Contravariance Of Vectors
In physics, especially in multilinear algebra and tensor analysis, covariance and contravariance describe how the quantitative description of certain geometric or physical entities changes with a change of basis. Briefly, a contravariant vector is a list of numbers that transforms oppositely to a change of basis, and a covariant vector is a list of numbers that transforms in the same way. Contravariant vectors are often just called ''vectors'' and covariant vectors are called ''covectors'' or ''dual vectors''. The terms ''covariant'' and ''contravariant'' were introduced by James Joseph Sylvester in 1851. Curvilinear coordinate systems, such as cylindrical coordinates, cylindrical or spherical coordinates, are often used in physical and geometric problems. Associated with any coordinate system is a natural choice of coordinate basis for vectors based at each point of the space, and covariance and contravariance are particularly important for understanding how the coordinate ...
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Vector 1-form
Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics and physics * Vector (mathematics and physics) ** Row and column vectors, single row or column matrices ** Vector quantity ** Vector space ** Vector field, a vector for each point Molecular biology * Vector (molecular biology), a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to artificially carry foreign genetic material into another cell ** Cloning vector, a small piece of DNA into which a foreign DNA fragment can be inserted for cloning purposes ** Shuttle vector, a plasmid constructed so that it can propagate in two different host species ** Viral vector, a tool commonly used by molecular biologists to deliver genetic materials into cells Computer science * Vector, a one-dimensional array data structure ** Distance-vector routing protocol, a c ...
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