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Algebraic Properties of Real Numbers

The basic algebraic properties of real numbers a,b and c are:

1. Closure: a + b and ab are real numbers

2. Commutative: a + b = b + a, ab = ba

3. Associative: (a+b) + c = a + (b+c), (ab)c = a(bc)

4. Distributive: (a+b)c = ac+bc

5. Identity: a+0 = 0+a = a

6. Inverse: a + (-a) = 0, a(1/a) = 1

7. Cancelation: If a+x=a+y, then x=y

8. Zero-factor: a0 = 0a = 0

9. Negation: -(-a) = a, (-a)b= a(-b) = -(ab), (-a)(-b) = ab

Algebraic Combinations

Factors with a common denominator can be expanded:

Fractions can be added by finding a common denominator:

Products of fractions can be carried out directly:

Quotients of fractions can be evaluated by inverting and multiplying:

Algebraic Equations

The role of a basic algebraic equation is to provide a formal mathematical statement of a logical problem. A first order algebraic
equation should have one unknown quantity and other terms which are known. The task of solving an algebraic equation is to isolate
the unknown quantity on one side of the equation to evaluate it numerically. Using x as the unknown and other letters to represent
known quantities, consider the following example equation:

The strategy for solving this equation is the repeated application of the golden rule of algebra to collect like terms and isolate the
quantity x on one side of the equation.
Golden Rule of Algebra

Any mathematical operation can be performed on one side of an equation so long as the identical operation is performed on the other
side of the equation.

The solution of basic algebraic equations is accomplished by applying this rule repeatedly in order to isolate the unknown quantity
and evaluate it. The application of this rule - proceeding by doing clear symmetric operations on the two sides of an equation - can
help avoid most common mistakes in solving algebraic equations.

Common Products and Factors

Any power of a binomial can be obtained from the Binomial Theorem.

Binomial Theorem

For any value of n, whether positive, negative, integer or non-integer, the value of the nth power of a binomial is given by:

There are many binomial expansion applications in physics.

Binomial Expansion

For any power of n, the binomial (a + x) can be expanded

This is particularly useful when x is very much less than a so that the first few terms provide a good approximation of the value of the
expression. There will always be n+1 terms and the general form is:
Binomial Expansion Examples

The binomial expansion is a useful example of a series. Some common examples of its application are:

Basic Combinations

Since the raising of a number n to a power p may be defined as multiplying n times itself p times, it follows that

The rule for raising a power to a power can also be deduced

Powers of Ten

For very large or very small numbers, it convenient to use the "scientific notation", i.e., to express the numbers in terms of a power of
10. Standard prefixes are used to denote certain powers of 10:
Radical Combinations

Euler Relationship

The trigonometric functions are related to a complex exponential by the Euler relationship

From these relationships the trig functions can be expressed in terms of the complex exponential:

Hyperbolic Functions

The hyperbolic functions can be defined in terms of exponentials.

There are closed-form expressions for the inverse hyperbolic functions:

An application of the hyperbolic tangent is in calculating the speed of ocean waves. The hyperbolic cosine and its inverse are
encountered in fluid friction in the case of quadratic drag.

Types of Logaritms

Although a logarithm may be defined with any base, the logs most often encountered are the logarithm to the base 10 which is called
the common logarithm

and the logarithm to the base e which is called the natural logarithm.
Base changes can be accomplished. For a chosen base:

Logarithms may be manipulated with the combination rules.

Logarithm Combinations

The logarithm to the base b of the variable x is defined as the power to which you would raise b to get x. It is written

The general combination properties of logarithms are:

Logarithm Base Change

If the logarithm to the base a is known, then the logarithm to the base b can be obtained by the base change relationship:

This can be proved from the definition and combination rules for logarithms. If

then

and rearranging gives

The most common base changes are from the natural log to base 10 log or vice versa.

log10x = ln x/ln 10 = ln x/2.30258 = 0.4343 ln x

What is a Logarithm?

The logarithm to the base b of the variable x is defined as the power to which you would raise b to get x. If the logarithm to the base b
of x is equal to y, then b raised to the y power will give you the value x. It it written

The general combination properties of logarithms are:

Exponentials and Natural Logs

Sometimes the quantity which is to be solved for in an equation is in an exponential function

The solution can be found by taking the natural logarithm of both sides of the equation.

so that

Applications of Logarithms

Applications of common logarithms include

The sound intensity in decibels:

The relative electric power in dB:

Decibels of ratios in the treatment of masking :

Basic Combinations

Since the raising of a number n to a power p may be defined as multiplying n times itself p times, it follows that

The rule for raising a power to a power can also be deduced

Applications of Exponentials

Applications of exponentials include

The charging of a capacitor :

Complex Numbers

A complex number is a number with a real and an imaginary part, usually expressed in cartesian form

Complex numbers can also be expressed in polar form

Euler Relationship

The trigonometric functions are related to a complex exponential by the Euler relationship

From these relationships the trig functions can be expressed in terms of the complex exponential:

This relationship is useful for expressing complex numbers in polar form, as well as many other applications.

Polar Form, Complex Numbers

The standard form of a complex number is

but this can be shown to be equivalent to the form

which is called the polar form of a complex number. The equivalence can be shown by using the Euler relationship for complex
exponentials.

Multiplication and Division

The multiplication of complex numbers in cartesian form is binomial multiplication

Division is a bit more involved in cartesian form and requires the process called rationalization of the complex number.

Rationalization of Complex Numbers

The division of complex numbers which are expressed in cartesian form is facilitated by a process called rationalization. The
formation of a fraction
presents difficulties because of the imaginary part of the denominator. The denominator can be forced to be real by multiplying both
numerator and denominator by the conjugate of the denominator.

Expanding puts the result of the division in cartesian form again.

Complex Conjugate

The conjugate of a complex number is that number with the sign of the imaginary part reversed

The utility of the conjugate is that any complex number multiplied by its complex conjugate is a real number:

This operation has practical utility for the rationalization of complex numbers and the square root of the number times its conjugate is
the magnitude of the complex number when expressed in polar form.

Applications of Complex Conjugates

When a real positive definite quantity is needed from a real function, the square of the function can be used. In the case of a complex
function, the complex conjugate is used to accomplish that purpose. The product of a complex number and its complex conjugate is
the complex number analog to squaring a real function. The complex conjugate is used in the rationalization of complex numbers and
for finding the amplitude of the polar form of a complex number.

One application of the complex conjugate in physics is in finding the probability in quantum mechanics. Since the wavefunction
which defines the probability amplitude may be a complex function, the probability is defined in terms of the complex conjugate to
obtain a real value.

Right Triangle Relationships

The hypotenuse of a right triangle is related to the sides by the Pythagorean

relationship:

From the two sides, either of the two acute angles may be found:
Given any two sides, the angles may be found using the triangle trigonometric relationships. If the hypotenuse and one side are
known, the other side may be calculated from:

Equation of a Line

Basic Trigonometric Functions

The basic trigonometric functions can be defined in terms of a right triangle. For the angle at one apex of the right triangle the
functions can be defined by:

The Arctangent Problem

In the right triangle shown, the angle can be calculated from

(several notations for the same function.) A common problem which arises in vector addition when
the components of the resultant vector are found is that the arctan function in calculators and
computer languages cannot distinguish the quadrant of the angle.

Arctan Problem Details

Care must be taken when calculating angles from coordinates because of the arctangent problem.
Angle sum and difference

Product Formulas

These relationships express the product of two sinusoids in terms of the sum of two sinusoids. Sometimes it is desirable to express the
sum of two sinusoids in terms of a product of sinusoids, as in the description of modulated sine waves. These relationships are called
the superposition relationships.

Superposition Relationships

If the sinusoids represent traveling electromagnetic waves and the arguments of the sinusoids are proportional to frequency, then these
relationships show that the superposition of two sinusoids will produce components with the sum and difference of the two
frequencies.
Fundamental Identities

Cofunction Formulas

Even-Odd Identities

Double-Angle Formulas

Half-Angle Formulas
Power Relations

Law of Sines

The law of sines is used to find angles of a general triangle. If two sides and the enclosed angle are known, it can be used in
conjunction with the law of cosines to find the third side and the other two angles.

If two sides and the angle opposite one of them are specified, then the angle opposite the other
can be calculated. The third angle is then determined by the fact that the sum of the interior angles
of a triangle must equal to 180 degrees.

Applications, Law of Sines

The law of sines has application to vector quantities:

It has application along with the law of cosines to the problem of the heading angle for an aircraft in the wind.

Law of Cosines

The law of cosines for calculating one side of a triangle when the angle opposite and the other two sides are known. Can be used in
conjunction with the law of sines to find all sides and angles.

Applications, Law of Cosines

The law of cosines has application to vector quantities:

To find the difference between two vectors, as

in a glancing collision.

It has application along with the law of sines to the problem of the heading angle for an aircraft in the wind.
Other applications:

Aircraft Heading to Counter Wind

Calculating the necessary aircraft heading to counter a wind velocity and proceed along a desired bearing to a destination is a classic
problem in aircraft navigation. It makes good use of the law of sines and the law of cosines.

The angle is just the difference between the wind direction and the desired
bearing. With that angle and the law of sines, the offset angle for the
aircraft is obtained:

Then the law of cosines is applied to get the resultant ground speed:

Trig Function Series

Trigonometric functions can be expanded in power series, which facilitates approximations of the functions in extreme cases. The
angle x must be in radians.

Applications of Trig Series

One of the most important applications of trigonometric series is for situations involving very small angles. For such angles, the
trigonmetric functions can be approximated by the first term in their series. This gives the useful small angle approximations:

Examples of the use of the small angle approximation are in the calculation of the period of a simple pendulum, and the calculation of
the intensity minima in single slit diffraction. This approximation is used in most of the common expressions of geometrical optics
which are built on the concept of surface power for lenses.

This approximation sin x = x reaches a 1% error at about 14 degrees.

Basic Geometric Forms

Distance Relationship

The distance between two points

is given by

Equation of a Line

Log Plot for Power Relationships

For linear relationships, the point-slope form of a line can give useful information about the relationships. For variables for which the
relationship is some kind of power law, a plot of the logarithms of the variables can help extract information about the power
relationship. The case of a freely falling object will be used to illustrate such a plot.
 The linear plot is useful for showing the quadratic relationship between distance and
time, and the slope of the curve is a measure of the derivative of the distance with
respect to time which is the instantaneous velocity.

A plot of the logarithm of the freefall distance as a function of the logarithm of time yields a straight line of slope 2. The slope of a
log-log plot gives the power of the relationship, and a straight line is an indication that a definite power relationship exists.

Conic Sections

The curves you get when you slice a cone are called conic sections and have many applications. Click on one for further details.

One application is that a moving particle that is subjected to an inverse square law force
like gravity or Coulomb's law will follow a path described by one of the conic sections.
Each of the conic sections can be described in terms of a semimajor axis a and an
eccentricity e. Representative values for these parameters are shown along with the types of
orbits which are associated with them.

Every equation of the form

is a conic section except for certain degenerate cases where the equation describes just points or lines. The conditions for the conic
sections described above are

Ellipses and Elliptic Orbits

An ellipse is defined as the set of points that satisfies the

equation

In cartesian coordinates with the x-axis horizontal, the

ellipse equation is

The ellipse may be seen to be a conic section, a curve obtained by slicing a circular
cone. A slice perpendicular to the axis gives the special case of a circle.

For the description of an elliptic orbit, it is convenient to express the orbital position in polar coordinates, using the angle :

This form makes it convenient to determine the aphelion and perihelion of an elliptic orbit. The area of an ellipse is given by
Each of the conic sections can be described in terms of a semimajor axis a and an eccentricity e.
Representative values for these parameters are shown along with the types of orbits which are
associated with them.

Polar Form of Ellipse

From the diagram at left, using the Pythagorean theorem to express r' in terms of r:

Using the trigonometric identity

this reduces to

Using the equation for an ellipse, an expression for r can be obtained

This form is useful in the application of Kepler's Law of Orbits for binary orbits under the influence of gravity.
Area of Ellipse

Using the equation for an ellipse

the height y can be expressed as

and integrated over a quarter of the ellipse to get the area:

This kind of integral may be evaluated by using trigonometric substitution

This gives the area integral

Using the trigonometric identity

the integral becomes

Then using the trigonometric identity

this gives

Parabola

A parabola is a conic section formed by a slice that meets condition that the eccentricity is e=1.

The symbol p represents the distance of closest approach to the single focus.
Each of the conic sections can be described in terms of a semimajor axis a and an eccentricity e.
Representative values for these parameters are shown along with the types of orbits which are
associated with them.

Hyperbola

A hyperbola is a conic section that meets the condition that the eccentricity e>1. A hyperbola in polar
coordinates has the form

In cartesian coordinates, a hyperbola centered on zero has the form

This describes a pair of symmetric hyperbolas and the asymptotes specified

conveniently.

Another perspective of the formation of a pair of hyperbolas by sectioning the cone parallel to the axis of the cone.

Each of the conic sections can be described in terms of a semimajor axis a and an eccentricity e.
Representative values for these parameters are shown along with the types of orbits which are
associated with them.
Coordinate Systems

Rectangular Coordinates Cylindrical Polar Coordinates Spherical Polar Coordinates

Applications:
Applications:
Applications: Hydrogen Schrodinger Equation
Cylindrical capacitor
Distance between points Maxwell speed distribution
Electric field of line charge.
Electric potential of sphere

Rectangular Coordinates

The most common coordinate system for representing positions in space is one based on three perpendicular spatial axes generally
designated x, y, and z.
Any point P may be represented by three signed numbers, usually written (x, y, z) where the
coordinate is the perpendicular distance from the plane formed by the other two axes.

Often positions are specified by a position vector r which can be expressed in terms of the
coordinate values and associated unit vectors.

Although the entire coordinate system can be rotated, the relationship between the axes is fixed in
what is called a right-handed coordinate system.

For the display of some kinds of data,it may be convenient to have different scales for the
different axes, but for the purpose of mathematical operations with the coordinates, it is necessary
for the axes to have the same scales. The term "Cartesian coordinates" is used to describe such
systems, and the values of the three coordinates unambiguously locate a point in space. In such a
coordinate system you can calculate the distance between two points and perform operations like
axis rotations without altering this value.

The distance between any two points in rectangular coordinates can be found from the distance
relationship.

Spherical Polar Coordinates

Cylindrical Polar Coordinates

With the axis of the circular cylinder taken as the z-axis, the perpendicular distance from the
cylinder axis is designated by r and the azimuthal angle taken to be .

Basic Vector Operations

Both a magnitude and a direction must be specified for a vector quantity, in contrast to a scalar quantity which can be quantified with
just a number. Any number of vector quantities of the same type (i.e., same units) can be combined by basic vector operations.

Graphical Vector Addition

Adding two vectors A and B graphically can be visualized like two successive
walks, with the vector sum being the vector distance from the beginning to the
end point. Representing the vectors by arrows drawn to scale, the beginning of
vector B is placed at the end of vector A. The vector sum R can be drawn as the
vector from the beginning to the end point.

The process can be done mathematically by finding the components of A and B,

combining to form the components of R, and then converting to polar form.

Example of Vector Components

Finding the components of vectors for vector addition involves forming a right
triangle from each vector and using the standard triangle trigonometry.

The vector sum can be found by combining

these components and converting to polar form.
Polar Form Example

After finding the components for the vectors A and B, and combining them to
find the components of the resultant vector R, the result can be put in polar form
by

Some caution should be exercised in evaluating the angle with a calculator

because of ambiguities in the arctangent on calculators.

Combining Vector Components

After finding the components for the vectors A and B, these components may be
just simply added to find the components of the resultant vector R.

The components fully specify the resultant of the vector addition, but it is often
desirable to put the resultant in polar form.

Resolving a Vector Into Components

Vectors are resolved into components by use of the triangle trig relationships.

Magnitude and Direction from Components

If the components of a vector are known, then its magnitude and direction can be
calculated with the use of the Pythagorean relationship and triangle trig. This is called the
polar form of the vector.
Vector Addition, Two Vectors

Vector addition involves finding vector components, adding them and finding
the polar form of the resultant.

Vector Addition, Three Vectors

Vector addition involves finding vector components, adding them and finding
the polar form of the resultant.

Vector Addition, Four Vectors

Vector addition involves finding vector components, adding them and finding the
polar form of the resultant.

Scalar Product of Vectors

The scalar product and the vector product are the two ways of multiplying vectors which see the most application in physics and
astronomy. The scalar product of two vectors can be constructed by taking the component of one vector in the direction of the other
and multiplying it times the magnitude of the other vector. This can be expressed in the form:

If the vectors are expressed in terms of unit vectors i, j, and k along the x, y, and z directions, the scalar product can also be expressed
in the form:

The scalar product is also called the "inner product" or the "dot product" in some mathematics texts.
Scalar Product Calculation

You may enter values in any of the boxes below. Then click on the symbol for either the scalar product or the angle. The vectors A
and B cannot be unambiguously calculated from the scalar product and the angle. If the angle is changed, then B will be placed along
the x-axis and A in the xy plane.

Active formula: please click on the scalar product or the angle to update calculation.

Scalar Product Applications

Geometrically, the scalar product is useful for finding the direction between arbitrary vectors in space. Since the two expressions for
the product:

involve the components of the two vectors and since the magnitudes A and B can be calculated from the components using:

then the cosine of the angle can be calculated and the angle determined.

One important physical application of the scalar product is the calculation of work:

The scalar product is used for the expression of magnetic potential energy and the potential of an electric dipole.

Matrix Representation of Scalar Product

It is sometimes convenient to represent vectors as row or column matrices, rather than in terms of unit vectors as was done in the
scalar product treatment above. If we treat ordinary spatial vectors as column matrices of their x, y and z components, then the
transposes of these vectors would be row matrices. We could then write for vectors A and B:

Then the matrix product of these two matrices would give just a single number, which is the sum of the products of the corresponding
spatial components of the two vectors. This number is then the scalar product of the two vectors.

When represented this way, the scalar product of two vectors illustrates the process which is used in matrix multiplication, where the
sum of the products of the elements of a row and column give a single number.

Vector Product of Vectors

The vector product and the scalar product are the two ways of multiplying vectors which see the most application in physics and
astronomy. The magnitude of the vector product of two vectors can be constructed by taking the product of the magnitudes of the
vectors times the sine of the angle (<180 degrees) between them. The magnitude of the vector product can be expressed in the form:
and the direction is given by the right-hand rule. If the vectors are expressed in terms of unit vectors i, j, and k in the x, y, and z
directions, then the vector product can be expressed in the rather cumbersome form:

which may be stated somewhat more compactly in the form of a determinant.

Vector Product, Determinant Form

The vector product is compactly stated in the form of a determinant which for the 3x3 case has a convenient evaluation procedure:

Once the scheme for determinant evaluation is familiar, this is a convenient way to reconstruct the expanded form:

Vector Product Calculation

You may enter values in any of the boxes below. Then click on the symbol for either the vector product or the angle.

Vector Product Applications

Geometrically, the vector product is useful as a method for constructing a vector perpendicular to a plane if you have two vectors in
the plane.

Physically, it appears in the calculation of torque and in the calculation of the magnetic force on a moving charge.

Right Hand Rule, Vector Product

The direction of the vector product can be visualized with the right-hand rule. If you curl the fingers of your right hand so that they
follow a rotation from vector A to vector B, then the thumb will point in the direction of the vector product.
The vector product of A and B is always perpendicular to both A and B. Another way of stating that is to say that the vector product is
perpendicular to the plane formed by vectors A and B. This right-hand rule direction is produced mathematically by the vector
product expression.

Basic Vector Definitions

A vector is a quantity that has both magnitude and direction. The magnitude is a scalar quantity, a scalar being defined as a quantity
which may be completely specified by a number and perhaps a unit. Common textbook representations of vectors include boldfaced
letters and boldface with an arrow above them. For example a displacement vector of 30 meters east could be represented in a variety
of ways:

The magnitude of the vector might be represented by absolute value signs around the vector symbol, or just the letter without the
boldface.

A vector might also be expressed in terms of unit vectors.

Unit Vectors

It is convenient to use vectors of unit length to specify the directions of vector quantities in the various coordinate systems. In
cartesian coordinates it is typical to use i, j and k to represent unit vectors in the x, y and z directions respectively. A vector which
specifies a position in space with respect to the origin of the coordinate system could then be written.

Vector Calculus

Many quantities which are of interest in physics are both directed quantities (vectors) and can take on a continuous range of values,
making calculus methods necessary. Several operations from the mathematical field of vector calculus are of particular importance in
solving physical problems.

Vector Calculus Operations

Three vector calculus operations which find many applications in physics are:

1. The divergence of a vector function

2. The curl of a vector function

3. The Gradient of a scalar function

These examples of vector calculus operations are expressed in Cartesian coordinates, but they can be expressed in terms of any
orthogonal coordinate system, aiding in the solution of physical problems which have other than rectangular symmetries.

The Del Operator

The collection of partial derivative operators

is commonly called the del operator. It shows up in important vector calculus operations.

Gradient

Divergence

Curl

LaPlacian

The Gradient

The gradient is a vector operation which operates on a scalar function to produce a vector whose magnitude is the maximum rate of
change of the function at the point of the gradient and which is pointed in the direction of that maximum rate of change. In rectangular
coordinates the gradient of function f(x,y,z) is:

If S is a surface of constant value for the function f(x,y,z) then the gradient on the surface defines a vector which is normal to the
surface.

The divergence of the gradient is called the LaPlacian. It is widely used in physics.

Gradient, Various Coordinates

Compared to the gradient in rectangular coordinates:

In cylindrical polar coordinates:

and in spherical polar coordinates:

The Divergence

The divergence of a vector field

in rectangular coordinates is defined as the scalar product of the del operator and the function

The divergence is a scalar function of a vector field. The divergence theorem is an important mathematical tool in electricity and
magnetism.

Applications of Divergence

The divergence of a vector field is proportional to the density of point sources of the field. In Gauss' law for the electric field

the divergence gives the density of point charges. In Gauss' law for the magnetic field

the zero value for the divergence implies that there are no point sources of magnetic field.

Divergence, Various Coordinates

Compared to the divergence in rectangular coordinates:

In cylindrical polar coordinates:

and in spherical polar coordinates:

The Curl

The curl of a vector function is the vector product of the del operator with a vector function:

where i,j,k are unit vectors in the x, y, z directions. It can also be expressed in determinant form:
 Curl in cylindrical and sphericalcoordinate systems

Curl, Cylindrical

The curl in cylindrical polar coordinates, expressed in determinant form is:

Curl, Spherical

The curl in spherical polar coordinates, expressed in determinant form is:

The LaPlacian

The divergence of the gradient of a scalar function is called the Laplacian. In rectangular coordinates:

The Laplacian finds application in the Schrodinger equation in quantum mechanics. In electrostatics, it is a part of LaPlace's equation
and Poisson's equation for relating electric potential to charge density.

LaPlacian in other coordinate systems

Laplacian, Various Coordinates

Compared to the LaPlacian in rectangular coordinates:

In cylindrical polar coordinates:

and in spherical polar coordinates:

Matrices

The word matrix refers to a rectangular array of elements. Matrices have utility in procedures for transforming such sets of elements.
For example, one type of procedure would represent the transformation from one set of coordinate axes to another. Another is the
solution of linear sets of equations.
Common notation for matrices uses a boldface letter for a matrix and identifies its elements in terms of the rows and columns of the
array. The elements are typically specified by subscripts a rc with the row subscript first.

A shorthand notation for matrices is

Matrices of the same dimensions can be added, subtracted, or multiplied by a constant in the same way as ordinary numbers by
applying the operation to each element. These operations follow combination rules similar to ordinary numbers.

Given that a matrix is a rectangular array, we may speak of an m x n matrix (read m by n matrix) as one which has m rows and n
columns.

Using the shorthand notation for matrices introduced above, we can describe some of the properties of matrices. The transpose AT of
an m x n matrix A[ajk] is the n x m matrix that has the first row of A as its first column, the second row of A as its second column, and
so on. Symmetric matrices and skew-symmetric matrices are square matrices whose transpose equals the matrix or minus the matrix,
respectively:

Matrix multiplication requires a defined procedure and is defined for two matrices only if the number of rows of the second matrix is
equal to the number of columns of the first as will be shown below.

Matrix Multiplication

The applications of matrices often involve the multiplication of two matrices, which requires rules for combination of the elements of
the matrices. Using single bold capital letters to represent matrices, the multiplication can be written:

Using the standard practice of using lower case letters for the elements of the matrices, with two subscripts in the order row and
column, this matrix multiplication process for 3x3 matrices can be depicted as:

Multiplying the matrices involves finding the elements cij of the product matrix by applying a specific rule, which involves
multiplying the elements of the ith row of matrix A by the elements of the j th column of matrix B. This is confusing enough that it may
help to depict the process visually as follows:
The operations that are done in calculating the product of two matrices are the same as those done in forming a scalar product of two
vectors. It might be helpful to think of the process as forming element cjk by taking the scalar product of row j of A and column k of
B.

Given the nature of the matrix product, it is defined only if the number of rows in matrix B is the same as the number of columns of
matrix A. When the matrix product AB is formed, the product matrix will have the same number of rows as A and the same number
of columns as B as illustrated below.

The shaded areas are a reminder that the jth row of matrix A and the kth column of matrix B are combined to produce the value of the
coefficient cjk in the product matrix C.

Matrix Combination Rules

For addition and multiplication by a constant, matrices follow combination rules similar to those in algebra. Notable differences
appear in matrix multiplication.

Addition:

A+B=B+A
A + (B+C) = (A+B) + C
A+0=A

Scalar multiplication (c and k are scalars):

c(A + B) = cB + cA
(c + k)A = cA + kA
c(kA = (ck)A
1A =A
Matrix multiplication has some distinctly different properties:

AB BA in general.
AB = 0 does not imply A = 0 or B = 0 or BA = 0
AC = AD does not imply C = D

Matrix multiplication has some properties similar to those for numbers (k = scalar):

(kA)B = k(AB) = A (kB)

A(BC) = (AB)C
(A + B)C = AC + BC

Determinants

A determinant is a square array of elements with a prescribed evaluation rule which is depicted as follows

The evaluation rule can be illustrated by a determinant of order three.

Determinants are useful in the evaluation of vector products and vector operations like the curl.

Determinant Evaluation Example

For a determinant of order three the evaluation rule is

Take the elements of the top row and multiply them times the determinant of their cofactors. The cofactor is the array left when the
row and column of the given top row element is eliminated. The evaluation of the determinant of the cofactor follows the same pattern
until the cofactor has dimension two. At that point, it's value is the difference of the diagonal products.

Limits
Most of the applications of calculus deal with continuous functions, but the visualization of processes often starts with finite changes
in the variables of interest. One power of calculus is that it can deal with changes which are infinitesmally small. For example, an
average velocity is obtained by taking a distance traveled and dividing by the finite time interval it took to travel that distance. But
suppose you wanted the instantaneous velocity at a given instant of time. You can approach that with a "limit", i.e., you can take the
smaller distances traveled in shorter intervals and divide by those shorter times. If this process is allowed to continue until the time
interval approaches zero, then this is called "taking the limit as the time interval approaches zero". This is the way a derivative of
distance with respect to time is defined and the way that an instantaneous velocity is calculated using calculus methods. Limits are
also used in the formation of integrals, or anti-derivatives.
Differential Form

As a precursor to carrying out calculus operations such as derivatives and integrals, a mathematical expression will have to be placed
in the differential form for the application of the methods of continuous variables. For example, a finite difference expression occurs
in the development of the relationship for radioactive decay:

It is standard practice to use the Greek letter to represent a finite difference. Often the finite difference relationship is only
approximately true and is exactly true only in the limit where the differences become infinitesmally small. In this limit, the time
interval t becomes vanishingly small and as a result, the number of decays N also becomes vanishingly small. The is replaced by
the differential symbol d and the resulting form

is said to be the differential form of the expression.

Even and Odd Functions

A function y= g(x) is even if g(-x) = g(x). Its graph is symmetric with respect to the y axis. A function y=h(x) is odd if h(-x) = -h(x) .
Its graph is antisymmetric with respect to the y axis.

Kreyszig list three key facts about even and odd functions.
1. If g(x) is an even function, then

2. If h(x) is an odd function, then

3. The product of an even and an odd function is odd.

Some important applications involve the trigonometric functions. The function cos nx is even and sin nx is odd. The calculation of AC
electric power makes use of these properties to arrive at an expression for average power.

Applications of Series

Most functions can be expanded into infinite series form. This is an advantage in physical applications where one is dealing with very
small numbers or a small difference between two functions. In those cases, the first few terms of a series may provide a satisfactory
description of a physical phenomenon in a much simpler form than the entire function.

Exponential Series

The exponential can be expanded as an infinite series:

Some applications of exponential series are:

Planck radiation formula at low temperatures:

Taylor Series

If f(x) is a well-behaved* function near a chosen expansion point, x0, then the function can be expanded in a series called a Taylor
series:

The Taylor series for a function is often useful in physical situations to approximate the value of the function near the expansion point
x0. It may be evaluated term-by-term in terms of the derivatives of the function. It is typical for successive terms in a series
approximation of a function to get smaller and smaller, and when the size of the next term appears negligible in terms of the problem
being addressed, then one can judge that a sufficiently accurate approximation of the function has been achieved.

It is often the case that a convenient expansion point is x 0 = 0, and series about this special expansion point are also called Maclaurin
series. There are many applications for expansions of common functions around x=0. Some examples are:

The one-term approximation for trig function series have many applications as "small angle approximations".

* Well-behaved means that both the function and its derivatives are defined and continuous in the range of the expansion around x 0.
Natural Log Series

Fourier Series

If a continuous function f(t) is periodic with period T, then it may be approximated arbitrarily well by a Fourier series

where the coefficients are given by:

Derivatives and Integrals

Foundational working tools in calculus, the derivative and integral permeate all aspects of modeling nature in the physical sciences.

The derivative of a function can be geometrically interpreted as the slope of the curve of the mathematical function f(x) plotted as a
function of x. But its implications for the modeling of nature go far deeper than this simple geometric application might imply. After
all, you can see yourself drawing finite triangles to discover slope, so why is the derivative so important? Its importance lies in the
fact that many physical entities such as velocity, acceleration, force and so on are defined as instantaneous rates of change of some
other quantity. The derivative can give you a precise intantaneous value for that rate of change and lead to precise modeling of the
desired quantity.

The integral of a function can be geometrically interpreted as the area under the curve of the mathematical function f(x) plotted as a
function of x. You can see yourself drawing a large number of blocks to appproximate the area under a complex curve, getting a better
answer if you use more blocks. The integral gives you a mathematical way of drawing an infinite number of blocks and getting a
precise analytical expression for the area. That's very important for geometry - and profoundly important for the physical sciences
where the definitions of many physical entities can be cast in a mathematical form like the area under a curve. The area of a little
block under the curve can be thought of as the width of the strip weighted by (i.e., multiplied by) the height of the strip. Many
properties of continuous bodies depend upon weighted sums, which to be exact must be infinite weighted sums - a problem tailor-
made for the integral. For example, finding the center of mass of a continuous body involves weighting each element of mass by its
distance from an axis of rotation, a process for which the integral is necessary if you are going to get a precise value. A vast number
of physical problems involve such infinite sums in their solutions, making the integral an essential tool for the physical scientist.

The Derivative

The Partial Derivative

The ordinary derivative of a function of one variable can be carried out because everything else in the function is a constant and does
not affect the process of differentiation. When there is more than one variable in a function it is often useful to examine the variation
of the function with respect to one of the variables with all the other variables constrained to stay constant. This is the purpose of a
partial derivative. The derivative is carried out in the same way as ordinary differentiation with this constraint. For example, given the
polynomial in variables x and y,

the partial derivative with respect to x is written

and the partial derivative with respect to y is written

Time Derivatives

Time derivatives are the standard way of representing instantaneous velocities and accelerations.
One example of the use of the derivative is in obtaining the velocity and acceleration from a position equation.

Derivatives of Polynomials

Many functions in physical problems have the form of polynomials. The derivative of a polynomial is the sum of the derivatives of its
terms, and for a general term of a polynomial such as

the derivative is given by

One of the common applications of this is in the time derivatives leading to the constant acceleration motion equations.

Properties of the Derivative

The derivative has certain special properties when applied to combinations of functions.

Derivative of the product of two functions

If the function f(x) is a product of two functions m(x) and n(x), then the derivative of this product is

Derivative of the sum of two functions

If the function f(x) is a sum of two functions m(x) and n(x), then the derivative of this sum is simply the sum of the derivatives:

Chain rule for differentiation

If the function y = f(x) and x=g(z), then the derivative of y with respect to z can be written as a product of derivatives:

Derivatives of Common Functions

In this table, a is a constant, while u, v, w are functions. The derivatives are expressed as derivatives with respect to an arbitrary
variable x.
Maxima and Minima from Calculus

One of the great powers of calculus is in the determination of the maximum or minimum value of a function. Take f(x) to be a
function of x. Then the value of x for which the derivative of f(x) with respect to x is equal to zero corresponds to a maximum, a
minimum or an inflexion point of the function f(x).

For example, the height of a projectile that is fired straight up is given by the motion equations:

Taking y0 = 0, a graph of the height y(t) is shown below.

The derivative of a function can be geometrically interpreted as the slope of the curve of the mathematical function y(t) plotted as a
function of t. The derivative is positive when a function is increasing toward a maximum, zero (horizontal) at the maximum, and
negative just after the maximum. The second derivative is the rate of change of the derivative, and it is negative for the process
described above since the first derivative (slope) is always getting smaller. The second derivative is always negative for a "hump" in
the function, corresponding to a maximum.
For the simple function used in the example, there is only one maximum. More complex functions can have multiple maxima and
minima, and the evaluation of the second derivative provides a way to distinguish them.

Area Under a Curve

Formulating the area under a curve is the first step toward developing the concept of the integral. The area under the curve formed by
plotting function f(x) as a function of x can be approximated by drawing rectangles of finite width and height f equal to the value of
the function at the center of the interval.

If the width of the rectangles is made smaller, then the number N is larger and the approximation of the area is better.

Integral as Limit of Area

The approximation to the area under a curve can be made better by making the approximating rectangles narrower. The idea of the
integral is to increase the number of rectangles N toward infinity by taking the limit as the rectangle width approaches zero.

While the concept of geometrical area is a convenient way to visualize an integral, the idea of integration is much more general than
that. Any continuous physical variable can be "chopped up" into infinitesmal increments (differential elements) so that the sum of the
product of that "width" and some function approaches an infinite sum. The integral is a powerful tool for modeling physical problems
which involve continuously varying quantities.
Area Integral Examples

Area examples with simple geometry can reinforce the idea of the integral as the area under a curve. For a function which is just a
constant a, then the area formed by the function is just a rectangle.

The general conclusion here is that the integral of a constant is just that constant
times the variable of integration x.

For a function f(x) = ax, the area is a triangle

The progression is to the general form for the integral of a polynomial in x:

Area Integral Approximations

The area under any continuous curve can be approximated by drawing a number of rectangles. The integral is the limit for an infinite
number of rectangles.

Area Integral Example

Integrals are useful for finding the area under curves which can be approximated by geometrical methods.

This is a polynomial type integral which can be found as the sum of the integrals of its parts.
Physical Applications of Integrals

Calculus Application for Constant Acceleration

The motion equations for the case of constant acceleration can be developed by integration of the acceleration. The process can be
reversed by taking successive derivatives.

On the left hand side above, the constant acceleration is integrated to obtain the velocity. For this indefinite integral, there is a
constant of integration. But in this physical case, the constant of integration has a very definite meaning and can be determined as an
intial condition on the movement. Note that if you set t=0, then v = v0, the initial value of the velocity. Likewise the further integration
of the velocity to get an expression for the position gives a constant of integration. Checking the case where t=0 shows us that the
constant of integration is the initial position x0. It is true as a general property that when you integrate a second derivative of a
quantity to get an expression for the quantity, you will have to provide the values of two constants of integration. In this case their
specific meanings are the initial conditions on the distance and velocity.

Time Dependent Acceleration

If the acceleration of an object is time dependent, then calculus methods are required for motion analysis. The relationships between
position, velocity and acceleration can be expressed in terms of derivatives or integrals.
Work done by a variable force

The basic work relationship W=Fx is a special case which applies

only to constant force along a straight line. That relationship gives
the area of the rectangle shown, where the force F is ploted as a
function of distance. In the more general case of a force which
changes with distance, the work may still be calculated as the area
under the curve. For example, for the work done to stretch a
spring, the area under the curve can be readily determined as the
area of the triangle. The power of calculus can also be applied
since the integral of the force over the distance range is equal to
the area under the force curve:

For any function of x, the work may be calculated as the area

under the curve by performing the integral

Work:General Definition

The general definition of work done by a force must take into account the fact that the force may vary in both magnitude and
direction, and that the path followed may also change in direction. All these things can be taken into account by defining work as an
integral.

Potential Energy Function

If a force acting on an object is a function of position only, it is said to be a conservative force, and it can be represented by a potential
energy function which for a one-dimensional case satisfies the derivative condition

The integral form of this relationship is

which can be taken as a definition of potential energy. Note that there is an arbitrary constant of integration in that definition, showing
that any constant can be added to the potential energy. Practically, this means that you can set the zero of potential energy at any point
which is convenient.
Potential Energy Concept

The potential energy U is equal to the work you must do to move an object from the U=0
reference point to the position r. The reference point at which you assign the value U=0 is
arbitrary, so may be chosen for convenience, like choosing the origin of a coordinate system.

The force on an object is the negative of the derivative of the potential function U. This means
it is the negative of the slope of the potential energy curve. Plots of potential functions are
valuable aids to visualizing the change of the force in a given region of space.

Negative Signs in Potential

F in the definition of potential energy is the force exerted by the force field, e.g., gravity,
spring force, etc. The potential energy U is equal to the work you must do against that force to
move an object from the U=0 reference point to the position r. The force you must exert to
move it must be equal but oppositely directed, and that is the source of the negative sign. The
force exerted by the force field always tends toward lower energy and will act to reduce the
potential energy.

The negative sign on the derivative shows that if the potential U increases with increasing r, the
force will tend to move it toward smaller r to decrease the potential energy.

Potential Energy Derivative

If the potential energy function U is known, the force at any point can be obtained by taking the derivative of the potential.

Potential Energy Integral

If the force is known, and is a conservative force, then the potential energy can be obtained by integrating the force.
Conservative Force

A conservative force may be defined as one for which the work done in moving between two points A and B is independent of the
path taken between the two points. The implication of "conservative" in this context is that you could move it from A to B by one path
and return to A by another path with no net loss of energy - any closed return path to A takes net zero work.

A further implication is that the energy of an object which is subject only to that conservative force is dependent upon its position and
not upon the path by which it reached that position. This makes it possible to define a potential energy function which depends upon
position only.

Work and Voltage: Constant Electric Field

The case of a constant electric field, as between charged parallel plate conductors, is a good
example of the relationship between work and voltage.

The electric field is by definition the force per unit charge, so that multiplying the field times the plate separation gives the work per
unit charge, which is by definition the change in voltage.

This association is the reminder of many often-used relationships:

Voltage Difference and Electric Field

The change in voltage is defined as the work done per unit charge against the electric field. In the case of constant electric fieldwhen
the movement is directly against the field, this can be written

If the distance moved, d, is not in the direction of the electric field, the work expression involves the scalar product:
In the more general case where the electric field and angle can be changing, the expression must be generalized to a line integral:

Voltage from Electric Field

The change in voltage is defined as the work done per unit charge, so it can be in general calculated from the electric field by
calculating the work done against the electric field. The work per unit charge done by the electric field along an infinitesmal path
length ds is given by the scalar product

Then the work done against the field per unit charge in moving from A to B is given by the line integral:

Area Integral

An area integral of a vector function E can be defined as the integral on a surface of the scalar
product of E with area element dA. The direction of the area element is defined to be perpendicular
to the area at that point on the surface.

The outward directed surface integral over an entire closed surface is denoted

It is appropriate for such physical applications as Gauss' law.

Line Integral

Vector functions such as electric field and magnetic field occur in physical
applications, and scalar products of these vector functions with another vector such as
distance or path length appear with regularity. When such a product is summed over a
path length where the magnitudes and directions change, that sum becomes an integral
called a line integral.

A line integral is also used for the general definition of work in mechanics.

Applications of Line Integrals

The line integral of electric field around a closed loop is equal to the voltage generated in that loop (Faraday's law):

Such an integral is also used for the calculation of voltage difference since voltage is work per unit charge. Calculating the voltage
difference near a point charge is a good example.

The line integral of a force over a path is equal to the work done by that force on the path.

Definite Integral

An integral for which the limits of integration are specified is called a definite integral. The value of this integral is completely
specified by performing the integration and substituting the values of the limits. This is in contrast to an indefinite integral which has
no specified limits.

Integrals of Polynomials

The integral of any polynomial is the sum of the integrals of its terms. A general term of a polynomial can be
written

and the indefinite integral of that term is

where a and C are constants. The expression applies for both positive and negative values of n except for the
special case of n= -1. In the examples, C is set equal to zero. If definite limits are set for the integration, it is
called a definite integral.

Integral of 1/x

As a special case of the integral of a polynomial, the integral of 1/x gives a natural logarithm.
where C is a constant of integration.

For the definite integral case:

Applications: Integral of 1/x

This integral appears in processes where the rate of change of a variable is proportional to the variable itself. This occurs in
radioactive decay:

Another example is in the calculation of the work done by a gas during an isothermal process. In this case the pressure is inversely
proportional to the gas volume V, leading to the work integral

Polynomial Integrals: Applications

Definite integrals of polynomials show up in many physical applications:

Potential energy of stretched spring:

Spring Potential Energy

Since the change in Potential energy of an object between two positions is equal to the work that must be done to move the object
from one point to the other, the calculation of potential energy is equivalent to calculating the work. Since the force required to stretch
a spring changes with distance, the calculation of the work involves an integral.

The work can also be visualized as the

area under the force curve:

Moment of Inertia of rod, cylinder, or sphere

Moment of Inertia: Rod

Calculating the moment of inertia of a rod about its center of mass is a good example of the need for calculus to deal with the
properties of continuous mass distributions. The moment of inertia of a point mass is given by I = mr2, but the rod would have to be
considered to be an infinite number of point masses, and each must be multiplied by the square of its distance from the axis. The
resulting infinite sum is called an integral. The general form for the moment of inertia is:

When the mass element dm is expressed in terms of a length element dr along the rod and the sum taken over the entire length, the
integral takes the form:

Rod Moment Calculation

The moment of inertia calculation for a uniform rod involves expressing any mass element in terms of a
distance element dr along the rod. To perform the integral, it is necessary to express eveything in the
integral in terms of one variable, in this case the length variable r. Since the total length L has mass M,
then M/L is the proportion of mass to length and the mass element can be expressed as shown.
Integrating from -L/2 to +L/2 from the center includes the entire rod. The integral is of polynomial type:

Rod Moment About End

Once the moment of inertia of an object about its center of mass has been determined, the
moment about any other axis can be determined by the Parallel axis theorem:

In this case that becomes

This can be confirmed by direct integration

Moment of Inertia: Cylinder

The expression for the moment of inertia of a solid cylinder can be built up from the moment of inertia of thin cylindrical shells.
Using the general definition for moment of inertia:

The mass element can be expressed in terms of an infinitesmal radial thickness dr by

Substituting gives a polynomial form integral:

Moment of Inertia: Hollow Cylinder

The expression for the moment of inertia of a hollow cylinder or hoop of

finite thickness is obtained by the same process as that for a solid cylinder.
The process involves adding up the moments of infinitesmally thin
cylindrical shells. The only difference from the solid cylinder is that the
integration takes place from the inner radius a to the outer radius b:

Moment of Inertia: Cylinder About Perpendicular Axis

The development of the expression for the moment of inertia of a cylinder about a diameter at its end (the x-axis in the diagram)
makes use of both the parallel axis theorem and the perpendicular axis theorem. The approach involves finding an expression for a
thin disk at distance z from the axis and summing over all such disks.
Obtaining the moment of inertia of the full cylinder about a diameter at its end involves summing over an infinite number of thin disks
at different distances from that axis. This involves an integral from z=0 to z=L. For any given disk at distance z from the x axis, using
the parallel axis theorem gives the moment of inertia about the x axis.

Now expressing the mass element dm in terms of z, we can integrate over the length of the cylinder.

This form can be seen to be plausible it you note that it is the sum of the expressions for a thin disk about a diameter plus the
expression for a thin rod about its end. If you take the limiting case of R=0 you get the thin rod expression, and if you take the case
where L=0 you get the thin disk expression.

The last steps make use of the polynomial forms of integrals.

Moment of Inertia: Sphere

The expression for the moment of inertia of a sphere can be developed by summing the moments of infintesmally thin disks about the
z axis. The moment of inertia of a thin disk is
Sphere Details

Details about the moment of inertia of a sphere.

Sphere Integral Details

Details about the moment of inertia of a sphere.

The process involves integrating the moments of inertia of infinitesmally thin disks from the top to the bottom of the sphere. This
involves polynomial form integrals.

Center of mass of rod

Center of Mass
The terms "center of mass" and "center of gravity" are used synonymously in a uniform gravity field to represent the unique point in
an object or system which can be used to describe the system's response to external forces and torques. The concept of the center of
mass is that of an average of the masses factored by their distances from a reference point. In one plane, that is like the balancing of a
seesaw about a pivot point with respect to the torques produced.

If you are making measurements from the center of mass point for a two-mass system then the center of mass condition can be
expressed as

where r1 and r2 locate the masses. The center of mass lies on the line connecting the two masses.

Center of Mass for Particles

The center of mass is the point at which all the mass can be considered to be "concentrated" for the purpose of calculating the "first
moment", i.e., mass times distance. For two masses this distance is calculated from

For the more general collection of N particles this becomes

and when extended to three dimensions:

This approach applies to diccrete masses even if they are not point masses if the position x i is taken to be the position of the center of
mass of the ith mass. It also points the way toward the calculation of the center of mass of an extended object.

Center of Mass: Continuous

For a continuous distribution of mass, the expression for the center of mass of a collection of particles :
becomes an infinite sum and is expressed in the form of an integral

For the case of a uniform rod this becomes

This example of a uniform rod previews some common features about the process of finding the center of mass of a continuous body.
Continuous mass distributions require calculus methods involving an integral over the mass of the object. Such integrals are typically
transformed into spatial integrals by relating the mass to a distance, as with the linear density M/L of the rod. Exploiting symmetry
can give much information: e.g., the center of mass will be on any rotational symmetry axis. The use of symmetry would tell you that
the center of mass is at the geometric center of the rod without calculation.

Motion equations for constant acceleration

Constant Acceleration Motion

Constant acceleration motion can be characterized by formulae and by motion graphs.

Calculus Application for Constant Acceleration

The motion equations for the case of constant acceleration can be developed by integration of the acceleration. The process can be
reversed by taking successive derivatives.

On the left hand side above, the constant acceleration is integrated to obtain the velocity. For this indefinite integral, there is a
constant of integration. But in this physical case, the constant of integration has a very definite meaning and can be determined as an
intial condition on the movement. Note that if you set t=0, then v = v0, the initial value of the velocity. Likewise the further integration
of the velocity to get an expression for the position gives a constant of integration. Checking the case where t=0 shows us that the
constant of integration is the initial position x0. It is true as a general property that when you integrate a second derivative of a
quantity to get an expression for the quantity, you will have to provide the values of two constants of integration. In this case their
specific meanings are the initial conditions on the distance and velocity.
Time Dependent Acceleration

If the acceleration of an object is time dependent, then calculus methods are required for motion analysis. The relationships between
position, velocity and acceleration can be expressed in terms of derivatives or integrals.

Gravitational potential energy at large heights.

Gravitational Potential Energy

Gravitational potential energy is energy an object possesses because of its position in a gravitational field. The most common use of
gravitational potential energy is for an object near the surface of the Earth where the gravitational acceleration can be assumed to be
constant at about 9.8 m/s2. Since the zero of gravitational potential energy can be chosen at any point (like the choice of the zero of a
coordinate system), the potential energy at a height h above that point is equal to the work which would be required to lift the object
to that height with no net change in kinetic energy. Since the force required to lift it is equal to its weight, it follows that the
gravitational potential energy is equal to its weight times the height to which it is lifted.

Gravitational Potential Energy

The general expression for gravitational potential energy arises from the law of gravity and is equal to the work done against gravity
to bring a mass to a given point in space. Because of the inverse square nature of the gravity force, the force approaches zero for large
distances, and it makes sense to choose the zero of gravitational potential energy at an infinite distance away. The gravitational
potential energy near a planet is then negative, since gravity does positive work as the mass approaches. This negative potential is
indicative of a "bound state"; once a mass is near a large body, it is trapped until something can provide enough energy to allow it to
escape. The general form of the gravitational potential energy of mass m is:

where G is the gravitation constant, M is the mass of the attracting body, and r is the distance between their centers.

This is the form for the gravitational potential energy which is most useful for calculating the escape velocity from the earth's gravity.

Gravitational Potential Energy

From the work done against the gravity force in bringing a mass in from infinity where the potential energy is assigned the value zero,
the expression for gravitational potential energy is

This expression is useful for the calculation of escape velocity, energy to remove from orbit, etc. However, for objects near the earth
the acceleration of gravity g can be considered to be approximately constant and the expression for potential energy relative to the
Earth's surface becomes

where h is the height above the surface and g is the surface value of the acceleration of gravity.
Gravitational Potential

Gravitational Potential Integral

Calculating energy stored in a capacitor.

Storing Energy in a Capacitor

The energy stored on a capacitor can be expressed in terms of the work done by the battery.
Voltage represents energy per unit charge, so the work to move a charge element dq from the
negative plate to the positive plate is equal to V dq, where V is the voltage on the capacitor. The
voltage V is proportional to the amount of charge which is already on the capacitor.

Element of energy stored:

If Q is the amount of charge stored when the whole battery voltage appears across the capacitor, then the stored energy is obtained
from the integral:

This energy expression can be put in three equivalent forms by just permutations based on the definition of capacitance C=Q/V.

The calculation of voltage difference near a point charge involves a polynomial integral with negative power:
Point Charge Potential

The electric potential (voltage) at any point in space produced by a point charge Q is given by the expression below. It is the electric
potential energy per unit charge and as such is a characteristic of the electric influence at that point in space. Since it is a scalar
quantity, the potential from multiple point charges is just the sum of the point charge potentials of the individual charges and can be
extended to calculate the potential from a continuous charge distribution.

Voltage = k x charge/radius

k=Coulomb's constant

Point Charge Potential

The potential (voltage) of a point charge can be evaluated by calculating the work necessary to bring a test charge q in from an infinite
distance to some distance r. The zero of potential is chosen at infinity.

Considering a radial path from a to b, the work done by the Coulomb force is obtained from a line integral
which in this case becomes just a polynomial integral since we are moving along a straight radial line:

The change in potential is the work done per unit charge against the Coulomb force, so

For a positive charge q, the Coulomb force does positive work in moving it from a to b, so that represents a drop in potential energy.

An example with a negative exponent is the calculation of work in an adiabatic process

Adiabatic Process
Some Physically Useful Definite Integrals

This is just a sampling of some of the definite integrals which appear in physical problems

Application:
molecular velocity distribution

Other definite integrals associated with Gaussian distribution.

Definite Integrals Associated with Gaussian Distributions

In physical systems which can be modeled by a Gaussian distribution, one sometimes needs to obtain the average or expectation value
for physical quantities. If these properties depend on x, then they can be integrated to find the average value. For the first five powers
of x, the integrals have the following forms:

Definite Integrals of the Squares of Trig Functions

In dealing with sinusoidal functions associated with waves and those associated with AC electric circuits, the squares of trig functions
appear. If they are averaged, then the average of the square of a trig function is found to be 1/2, so long as you are taking an integer
number of quarter periods.

Indefinite Integral

An indefinite integral or antiderivative has no specified limits for the integration. For application to specific problems, boundary
conditions must be applied to the result in order to arrive at a specific value for the integral. The uncertainty in the value of the
indefinite integral is expressed in the form of a constant of integration which is not defined by the integration process. The constant of
integration is determined by applying the relevant boundary conditions to the problem.

Indefinite Integrals of Common Algebraic Forms

To each of these indefinite integrals should be added an arbitrary constant of integration, which cannot be determined by the
integration process.
Indefinite Integrals of Trigonometric Functions

To each of these indefinite integrals should be added an arbitrary constant of integration, which cannot be determined by the
integration process. The definite integrals of the squares of trig functions are of interest in many physical problems.
Indefinite Integrals of Exponents and Logs

To each of these indefinite integrals should be added an arbitrary constant of integration, which cannot be determined by the
integration process.

Basic Trigonometric Integrals

Squares of Trignonometric Functions

Integrals of Exponentials and Logs

Constant of Integration

The use of a constant of integration is a way to give a general result for an indefinite integral which arises in a physical problem. The
process of integration does not give a specific value for the integral, but the application of physical boundary conditions makes
possible the assigning of a definite value to the constant of integration, thereby fitting the calculation to the specific physical situation.

Integration by Parts

Integration by parts is a useful strategy for simplifying some integrals. It is based on the combination rule for differentiation and the
general approach can be summarized by:
This technique is particularly appropriate for removing a linear term multiplying an exponential. For example, the integral

can be simplified by the identification

Then u can be differentiated and dv can be integrated.

The value of the integral is then

If a higher power term of x multiplies the exponential, then the process of integration by parts can be repeated to reduce the power term.
Two stages are necessary to integrate a square term.
Three stages are necessary if the integrand has a cubic term, and so on.

Average of a Function

If a function f(x) is a simple straight line of maximum value A on an interval T, then the average over an interval T is just A/2.

If the function is more complex, then you can apply the idea that the average value of the function f avg multiplied times the interval T
will be equal to the area under the function curve. This is where the idea of the integral becomes significant. The integral can be
viewed as the area under the function curve.

The use of an integral to obtain the average of a function is a powerful and useful technique. It can be illustrated using the simple
function above.

The integral used here is of the polynomial type.

First Order Homogeneous DE

A first order homogeneous differential equation involves only the first derivative of a function and the function itself, with constants
only as multipliers. The equation is of the form

and can be solved by the substitution

The solution which fits a specific physical situation is obtained by substituting the solution into the equation and evaluating the
various constants by forcing the solution to fit the physical boundary conditions of the problem at hand. Substituting gives

General Solution to a D.E.

The general solution to a differential equation must satisfy both the homogeneous and non-homogeneous equations. It is the nature of
the homogeneous solution that the equation gives a zero value. If you find a particular solution to the non-homogeneous equation, you
can add the homogeneous solution to that solution and it will still be a solution since its net result will be to add zero. This does not
mean that the homogeneous solution adds no meaning to the picture; the homogeneous part of the solution for a physical situation helps
in the understanding of the physical system. A solution can be formed as the sum of the homogeneous and non-homogeneous solutions,
and it will have a number of arbitrary (undetermined) constants. Such a solution is called the general solution to the differential equation.
For application to a physical problem, the constants must be determined by forcing the solution to fit physical boundary conditions.
Once a general solution is formed and then forced to fit the physical boundary conditions, one can be confident that it is the unique
solution to the problem, as gauranteed by the uniqueness theorem.

Boundary Conditions

The boundary conditions on a differential equation are the constraining values of the function at some particular value of the independent
variable. For example, if the equation involves the velocity, the boundary condition might be the initial velocity, the velocity at time
t=0. In order to have a complete solution, there must be a boundary condition for each order of the equation - two boundary conditions
for a second order equation, only one necessary for a first order differential equation. If a solution to a differential equation is found
which satisfies all the boundary conditions, then it is the only solution to that equation - this is called the uniqueness theorem. Therefore,
a reasonable approach to finding solutions to differential equations in physical problems is to use a trial solution and try to force it to fit
the boundary conditions. If successful, then this approach finds the unique solution.

Uniqueness Theorem

For the differential equations applicable to physical problems, it is often possible to start with a general form and force that form to fit
the physical boundary conditions of the problem. This kind of approach is made possible by the fact that there is one and only one
solution to the differential equation, i.e., the solution is unique.

Stated in terms of a first order differential equation, if the problem

meets the condition such that f(x,y) and the derivative of y is continuous in a given rectangle of (x,y) values, then there is one and
only one solution to the equation which will meet the boundary conditions.

Differential Equation Terminology

Some general terms used in the discussion of differential equations:

Order: The order of a differential equation is the highest power of derivative which occurs in the equation, e.g., Newton's second law
produces a 2nd order differential equation because the acceleration is the second derivative of the position.

Linear and nonlinear: A differential equation is said to be linear if each term in the equation has only one order of derivative, e.g., no
term has both y and the derivative of y with respect to time. Also, no derivative is raised to a power.

Homogeneous and nonhomogeneous: A differential equation is said to be homogeneous if there is no isolated constant term in the
equation, e.g., each term in a differential equation for y has y or some derivative of y in each term.

First Order Non-homogeneous Differential Equation

An example of a first order linear non-homogeneous differential equation is

Having a non-zero value for the constant c is what makes this equation non-homogeneous, and that adds a step to the process of
solution. The path to a general solution involves finding a solution to the homogeneous equation (i.e., drop off the constant c), and
then finding a particular solution to the non-homogeneous equation (i.e., find any solution with the constant c left in the equation).
The solution to the homogeneous equation is

By substitution you can verify that setting the function equal to the constant value -c/b will satisfy the non-homogeneous equation.

It is the nature of differential equations that the sum of solutions is also a solution, so that a general solution can be approached by
taking the sum of the two solutions above. The final requirement for the application of the solution to a physical problem is that the
solution fits the physical boundary conditions of the problem. The most common situation in physical problems is that the boundary
conditions are the values of the function f(x) and its derivatives when x=0. Boundary conditions are often called "initial conditions".
For the first order equation, we need to specify one boundary condition. For example:

Substituting at x=0 gives:

Charging a Capacitor

An application of non-homogeneous differential equations

A first order non-homogeneous differential equation

has a solution of the form :

For the process of charging a capacitor from zero charge with a battery, the equation is
 .

Using the boundary condition Q=0 at t=0 and identifying the terms corresponding to the general solution, the solutions for the charge
on the capacitor and the current are:

In this example the constant B in the general solution had the value zero, but if the charge on the capacitor had not been initially zero,
the general solution would still give an accurate description of the change of charge with time. The discharge of the capacitor is an
example of application of the homogeneous differential equation.

Capacitor Discharge

An application of homogeneous differential equations

A first order homogeneous differential equation

has a solution of the form :

For the process of discharging a capacitor C, which is initially charged to the voltage of a battery Vb, the equation is

Using the boundary condition and identifying the terms corresponding to the general solution, the solutions for the charge on the
capacitor and the current are:

Since the voltage on the capacitor during the discharge is strictly determined by the charge on the capacitor, it follows the same
pattern.

Applications of 1st Order Homogeneous Differential Equations

The general form of the solution of the homogeneous differential equation can be applied to a large number of physical problems.
 Discharge of a capacitor
Barometric pressure variation with altitude:

Second Order Homogeneous DE

A linear second order homogeneous differential equation involves terms up to the second derivative of a function. For the case of
constant multipliers, The equation is of the form

and can be solved by the substitution

The solution which fits a specific physical situation is obtained by substituting the solution into the equation and evaluating the
various constants by forcing the solution to fit the physical boundary conditions of the problem at hand. Substituting gives

which leads to a variety of solutions, depending on the values of a and b. In physical problems, the boundary conditions determine the
values of a and b, and the solution to the quadratic equation for reveals the nature of the solution.

Case I: Two real roots

For values of a and b such that

there are two real roots 1 and 2 which lead to a general solution of the form

Case II: A real double root

If a and b are such that

then there is a double root =-a/2 and the unique form of the general solution is

Case III: Complex conjugate roots

For values of a and b such that

there are two complex conjugate roots of the form and the general solution is
The solution to the homogeneous equation is important on its own for many physical applications, and is also a part of the solution of
the non-homogeneous equation.

Differential Equation Applications

These are physical applications of second-order differential equations. There are also many applications of first-order differential
equations.

Simple harmonic motion:

Simple pendulum:

Azimuthal equation, hydrogen atom:

Velocity profile in fluid flow.

Second Order Non-homogeneous Differential Equation

Many physical problems involve second order differential equations. Some applications involve homogeneous equations, but the more
general case is the non-homogeneous equation. The general form of the second order differential equation is

The path to a general solution involves finding a solution fh(x) to the homogeneous equation, and then finding a particular solution
fp(x) to the non-homogeneous equation (i.e., find any solution that satisfies the equation with all terms included). The form of the
general solution is

A great variety of types of solutions arise in physical problems and specific functions arise, depending upon the boundary conditions.