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Nabla Operator
Del, or nabla, is an operator used in mathematics (particularly in vector calculus) as a vector differential operator, usually represented by the nabla symbol ∇. When applied to a function defined on a one-dimensional domain, it denotes the standard derivative of the function as defined in calculus. When applied to a ''field'' (a function defined on a multi-dimensional domain), it may denote any one of three operations depending on the way it is applied: the gradient or (locally) steepest slope of a scalar field (or sometimes of a vector field, as in the Navier–Stokes equations); the divergence of a vector field; or the curl (rotation) of a vector field. Del is a very convenient mathematical notation for those three operations (gradient, divergence, and curl) that makes many equations easier to write and remember. The del symbol (or nabla) can be formally defined as a vector operator whose components are the corresponding partial derivative operators. As a ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operator (mathematics)
In mathematics, an operator is generally a Map (mathematics), mapping or function (mathematics), function that acts on elements of a space (mathematics), space to produce elements of another space (possibly and sometimes required to be the same space). There is no general definition of an ''operator'', but the term is often used in place of ''function'' when the domain of a function, domain is a set of functions or other structured objects. Also, the domain of an operator is often difficult to characterize explicitly (for example in the case of an integral operator), and may be extended so as to act on related objects (an operator that acts on functions may act also on differential equations whose solutions are functions that satisfy the equation). (see Operator (physics) for other examples) The most basic operators are linear maps, which act on vector spaces. Linear operators refer to linear maps whose domain and range are the same space, for example from \mathbb^n to \mathbb^n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Partial Derivative
In mathematics, a partial derivative of a function of several variables is its derivative with respect to one of those variables, with the others held constant (as opposed to the total derivative, in which all variables are allowed to vary). Partial derivatives are used in vector calculus and differential geometry. The partial derivative of a function f(x, y, \dots) with respect to the variable x is variously denoted by It can be thought of as the rate of change of the function in the x-direction. Sometimes, for the partial derivative of z with respect to x is denoted as \tfrac. Since a partial derivative generally has the same arguments as the original function, its functional dependence is sometimes explicitly signified by the notation, such as in: f'_x(x, y, \ldots), \frac (x, y, \ldots). The symbol used to denote partial derivatives is ∂. One of the first known uses of this symbol in mathematics is by Marquis de Condorcet from 1770, who used it for partial differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vector Product
In mathematics, the cross product or vector product (occasionally directed area product, to emphasize its geometric significance) is a binary operation on two vectors in a three-dimensional oriented Euclidean vector space (named here E), and is denoted by the symbol \times. Given two linearly independent vectors and , the cross product, (read "a cross b"), is a vector that is perpendicular to both and , and thus normal to the plane containing them. It has many applications in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer programming. It should not be confused with the dot product (projection product). The magnitude of the cross product equals the area of a parallelogram with the vectors for sides; in particular, the magnitude of the product of two perpendicular vectors is the product of their lengths. The units of the cross-product are the product of the units of each vector. If two vectors are parallel or are anti-parallel (that is, they are linearly dependent), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magnitude (mathematics)
In mathematics, the magnitude or size of a mathematical object is a property which determines whether the object is larger or smaller than other objects of the same kind. More formally, an object's magnitude is the displayed result of an ordering (or ranking) of the class of objects to which it belongs. Magnitude as a concept dates to Ancient Greece and has been applied as a measure of distance from one object to another. For numbers, the absolute value of a number is commonly applied as the measure of units between a number and zero. In vector spaces, the Euclidean norm is a measure of magnitude used to define a distance between two points in space. In physics, magnitude can be defined as quantity or distance. An order of magnitude is typically defined as a unit of distance between one number and another's numerical places on the decimal scale. History Ancient Greeks distinguished between several types of magnitude, including: * Positive fractions * Line segments (orde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direction (geometry)
In geometry, direction, also known as spatial direction or vector direction, is the common characteristic of all rays which coincide when translated to share a common endpoint; equivalently, it is the common characteristic of vectors (such as the relative position between a pair of points) which can be made equal by scaling (by some positive scalar multiplier). Two vectors sharing the same direction are said to be ''codirectional'' or ''equidirectional''. All co directional line segments sharing the same size (length) are said to be '' equipollent''. Two equipollent segments are not necessarily coincident; for example, a given direction can be evaluated at different starting positions, defining different unit directed line segments (as a bound vector instead of a free vector). A direction is often represented as a unit vector, the result of dividing a vector by its length. A direction can alternately be represented by a point on a circle or sphere, the intersection ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laplacian
In mathematics, the Laplace operator or Laplacian is a differential operator given by the divergence of the gradient of a scalar function on Euclidean space. It is usually denoted by the symbols \nabla\cdot\nabla, \nabla^2 (where \nabla is the nabla operator), or \Delta. In a Cartesian coordinate system, the Laplacian is given by the sum of second partial derivatives of the function with respect to each independent variable. In other coordinate systems, such as cylindrical and spherical coordinates, the Laplacian also has a useful form. Informally, the Laplacian of a function at a point measures by how much the average value of over small spheres or balls centered at deviates from . The Laplace operator is named after the French mathematician Pierre-Simon de Laplace (1749–1827), who first applied the operator to the study of celestial mechanics: the Laplacian of the gravitational potential due to a given mass density distribution is a constant multiple of that de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Directional Derivative
In multivariable calculus, the directional derivative measures the rate at which a function changes in a particular direction at a given point. The directional derivative of a multivariable differentiable (scalar) function along a given vector v at a given point x intuitively represents the instantaneous rate of change of the function, moving through x with a direction specified by v. The directional derivative of a scalar function ''f'' with respect to a vector v at a point (e.g., position) x may be denoted by any of the following: \begin \nabla_(\mathbf) &=f'_\mathbf(\mathbf)\\ &=D_\mathbff(\mathbf)\\ &=Df(\mathbf)(\mathbf)\\ &=\partial_\mathbff(\mathbf)\\ &=\mathbf\cdot\\ &=\mathbf\cdot \frac.\\ \end It therefore generalizes the notion of a partial derivative, in which the rate of change is taken along one of the curvilinear coordinate curves, all other coordinates being constant. The directional derivative is a special case of the Gateaux derivative. Definition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curl (mathematics)
In vector calculus, the curl, also known as rotor, is a vector operator that describes the Differential (infinitesimal), infinitesimal Circulation (physics), circulation of a vector field in three-dimensional Euclidean space. The curl at a point in the field is represented by a vector (geometry), vector whose length and direction denote the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude and axis of the maximum circulation. The curl of a field is formally defined as the circulation density at each point of the field. A vector field whose curl is zero is called irrotational. The curl is a form of derivative, differentiation for vector fields. The corresponding form of the fundamental theorem of calculus is Kelvin–Stokes theorem, Stokes' theorem, which relates the surface integral of the curl of a vector field to the line integral of the vector field around the boundary curve. The notation is more common in North America. In the rest of the world, particularly in 20th century scientific li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Del In Cylindrical And Spherical Coordinates
This is a list of some vector calculus formulae for working with common curvilinear coordinates, curvilinear coordinate systems. Notes * This article uses the standard notation ISO 80000-2, which supersedes ISO 31-11#Coordinate systems, ISO 31-11, for spherical coordinate system, spherical coordinates (other sources may reverse the definitions of ''θ'' and ''φ''): ** The polar angle is denoted by \theta \in [0, \pi]: it is the angle between the ''z''-axis and the radial vector connecting the origin to the point in question. ** The azimuthal angle is denoted by \varphi \in [0, 2\pi]: it is the angle between the ''x''-axis and the projection of the radial vector onto the ''xy''-plane. * The function can be used instead of the mathematical function owing to its Domain of a function, domain and Image (mathematics), image. The classical arctan function has an image of , whereas atan2 is defined to have an image of . Coordinate conversions Note that the operation \arctan\le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-dimensional
In geometry, a three-dimensional space (3D space, 3-space or, rarely, tri-dimensional space) is a mathematical space in which three values (''coordinates'') are required to determine the position (geometry), position of a point (geometry), point. Most commonly, it is the three-dimensional Euclidean space, that is, the Euclidean space of dimension three, which models physical space. More general three-dimensional spaces are called ''3-manifolds''. The term may also refer colloquially to a subset of space, a ''three-dimensional region'' (or 3D domain (mathematical analysis), domain), a ''solid figure''. Technically, a tuple of Real number, numbers can be understood as the Cartesian coordinates of a location in a -dimensional Euclidean space. The set of these -tuples is commonly denoted \R^n, and can be identified to the pair formed by a -dimensional Euclidean space and a Cartesian coordinate system. When , this space is called the three-dimensional Euclidean space (or simply "E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Standard Basis
In mathematics, the standard basis (also called natural basis or canonical basis) of a coordinate vector space (such as \mathbb^n or \mathbb^n) is the set of vectors, each of whose components are all zero, except one that equals 1. For example, in the case of the Euclidean plane \mathbb^2 formed by the pairs of real numbers, the standard basis is formed by the vectors \mathbf_x = (1,0),\quad \mathbf_y = (0,1). Similarly, the standard basis for the three-dimensional space \mathbb^3 is formed by vectors \mathbf_x = (1,0,0),\quad \mathbf_y = (0,1,0),\quad \mathbf_z=(0,0,1). Here the vector e''x'' points in the ''x'' direction, the vector e''y'' points in the ''y'' direction, and the vector e''z'' points in the ''z'' direction. There are several common notations for standard-basis vectors, including , , , and . These vectors are sometimes written with a hat to emphasize their status as unit vectors (standard unit vectors). These vectors are a basis in the sense that any othe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cartesian Coordinate System
In geometry, a Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane (geometry), plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point (geometry), point uniquely by a pair of real numbers called ''coordinates'', which are the positive and negative numbers, signed distances to the point from two fixed perpendicular oriented lines, called ''coordinate lines'', ''coordinate axes'' or just ''axes'' (plural of ''axis'') of the system. The point where the axes meet is called the ''Origin (mathematics), origin'' and has as coordinates. The axes direction (geometry), directions represent an orthogonal basis. The combination of origin and basis forms a coordinate frame called the Cartesian frame. Similarly, the position of any point in three-dimensional space can be specified by three ''Cartesian coordinates'', which are the signed distances from the point to three mutually perpendicular planes. More generally, Cartesian coordinates specify the point in an -dimensional Euclidean space for any di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
