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If a tensor A is defined on a vector fields set X(M) over a module M, we call A a tensor field on M. [1] Many mathematical structures called "tensors" are also tensor fields. For example, the Riemann curvature tensor is a tensor field as it associates a tensor to each point of a Riemannian manifold, which is a topological space.
[1] [2] [3] An example of a scalar field is a weather map, with the surface temperature described by assigning a number to each point on the map. A surface wind map, [4] assigning an arrow to each point on a map that describes the wind speed and direction at that point, is an example of a vector field, i.e. a 1-dimensional (rank-1) tensor field ...
This table shows important examples of tensors on vector spaces and tensor fields on manifolds. The tensors are classified according to their type (n, m), where n is the number of contravariant indices, m is the number of covariant indices, and n + m gives the total order of the tensor. For example, a bilinear form is the same thing as a (0, 2 ...
Modern physics uses field theories to explain reality. These fields can be scalar, vectorial or tensorial. An example of a scalar field is the temperature field. An example of a vector field is the wind velocity field. An example of a tensor field is the stress tensor field in a stressed body, used in continuum mechanics.
A scalar field is a tensor field of order zero, [3] and the term "scalar field" may be used to distinguish a function of this kind with a more general tensor field, density, or differential form. The scalar field of sin ( 2 π ( x y + σ ) ) {\displaystyle \sin(2\pi (xy+\sigma ))} oscillating as σ {\displaystyle \sigma } increases.
Examples of different fields in physics include vector fields such as the electromagnetic field, spinor fields whose quanta are fermionic particles such as electrons, and tensor fields such as the metric tensor field that describes the shape of spacetime and gives rise to gravitation in general relativity. Unified field theory attempts to ...
Tensor products are used in many application areas, including physics and engineering. For example, in general relativity, the gravitational field is described through the metric tensor, which is a tensor field with one tensor at each point of the space-time manifold, and each belonging to the tensor product of the cotangent space at the point ...
In general relativity, the metric tensor (in this context often abbreviated to simply the metric) is the fundamental object of study.The metric captures all the geometric and causal structure of spacetime, being used to define notions such as time, distance, volume, curvature, angle, and separation of the future and the past.