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In mathematics, d'Alembert's equation is a first order nonlinear ordinary differential equation, named after the French mathematician Jean le Rond d'Alembert. The equation reads as [1]
where . After differentiating once, and rearranging we have
The above equation is linear. When , d'Alembert's equation is reduced to Clairaut's equation.
The derivative is a fundamental tool of calculus that quantifies the sensitivity of change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the instantaneous rate of change, the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation.
The wave equation is a second-order linear partial differential equation for the description of waves or standing wave fields such as mechanical waves or electromagnetic waves. It arises in fields like acoustics, electromagnetism, and fluid dynamics.
In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other scientists since most systems are inherently nonlinear in nature. Nonlinear dynamical systems, describing changes in variables over time, may appear chaotic, unpredictable, or counterintuitive, contrasting with much simpler linear systems.
The calculus of variations is a field of mathematical analysis that uses variations, which are small changes in functions and functionals, to find maxima and minima of functionals: mappings from a set of functions to the real numbers. Functionals are often expressed as definite integrals involving functions and their derivatives. Functions that maximize or minimize functionals may be found using the Euler–Lagrange equation of the calculus of variations.
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 , (where is the nabla operator), or . 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 Δf (p) of a function f at a point p measures by how much the average value of f over small spheres or balls centered at p deviates from f (p).
In mathematics, an autonomous system or autonomous differential equation is a system of ordinary differential equations which does not explicitly depend on the independent variable. When the variable is time, they are also called time-invariant systems.
In mathematics, a linear differential equation is a differential equation that is defined by a linear polynomial in the unknown function and its derivatives, that is an equation of the form
In mathematics, separation of variables is any of several methods for solving ordinary and partial differential equations, in which algebra allows one to rewrite an equation so that each of two variables occurs on a different side of the equation.
In mathematical analysis, Clairaut's equation is a differential equation of the form
In mathematics and its applications, a Sturm–Liouville problem is a second-order linear ordinary differential equation of the form:
In mathematics, the method of characteristics is a technique for solving partial differential equations. Typically, it applies to first-order equations, although more generally the method of characteristics is valid for any hyperbolic partial differential equation. The method is to reduce a partial differential equation to a family of ordinary differential equations along which the solution can be integrated from some initial data given on a suitable hypersurface.
In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, and the differential equation defines a relationship between the two. Such relations are common; therefore, differential equations play a prominent role in many disciplines including engineering, physics, economics, and biology.
In mathematics, an integrating factor is a function that is chosen to facilitate the solving of a given equation involving differentials. It is commonly used to solve ordinary differential equations, but is also used within multivariable calculus when multiplying through by an integrating factor allows an inexact differential to be made into an exact differential. This is especially useful in thermodynamics where temperature becomes the integrating factor that makes entropy an exact differential.
In mathematics, an exact differential equation or total differential equation is a certain kind of ordinary differential equation which is widely used in physics and engineering.
In mathematics, the inverse scattering transform is a method that solves the initial value problem for a nonlinear partial differential equation using mathematical methods related to wave scattering. The direct scattering transform describes how a function scatters waves or generates bound-states. The inverse scattering transform uses wave scattering data to construct the function responsible for wave scattering. The direct and inverse scattering transforms are analogous to the direct and inverse Fourier transforms which are used to solve linear partial differential equations.
A differential equation can be homogeneous in either of two respects.
In differential calculus, there is no single uniform notation for differentiation. Instead, various notations for the derivative of a function or variable have been proposed by various mathematicians. The usefulness of each notation varies with the context, and it is sometimes advantageous to use more than one notation in a given context. The most common notations for differentiation are listed below.
An -superprocess, , within mathematics probability theory is a stochastic process on that is usually constructed as a special limit of near-critical branching diffusions.
In calculus, the differential represents the principal part of the change in a function with respect to changes in the independent variable. The differential is defined by
In mathematics, Chrystal's equation is a first order nonlinear ordinary differential equation, named after the mathematician George Chrystal, who discussed the singular solution of this equation in 1896. The equation reads as
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