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In mathematics, divided differences is an algorithm, historically used for computing tables of logarithms and trigonometric functions. [citation needed] Charles Babbage's difference engine, an early mechanical calculator, was designed to use this algorithm in its operation. [1] Divided differences is a recursive division process.
In mathematical analysis, the mean value theorem for divided differences generalizes the mean value theorem to higher derivatives. [1] Statement of the theorem
This expression is Newton's difference quotient (also known as a first-order divided difference). The slope of this secant line differs from the slope of the tangent line by an amount that is approximately proportional to h. As h approaches zero, the slope of the secant line approaches the slope of the tangent line.
For that purpose, the divided-difference formula and/or its x 0 point should be chosen so that the formula will use, for its linear term, the two data points between which the linear interpolation of interest would be done. The divided difference formulas are more versatile, useful in more kinds of problems.
The principle of a difference engine is Newton's method of divided differences. If the initial value of a polynomial (and of its finite differences) is calculated by some means for some value of X, the difference engine can calculate any number of nearby values, using the method generally known as the method of finite differences.
In an analogous way, one can obtain finite difference approximations to higher order derivatives and differential operators. For example, by using the above central difference formula for f ′(x + h / 2 ) and f ′(x − h / 2 ) and applying a central difference formula for the derivative of f ′ at x, we obtain the central difference approximation of the second derivative of f:
Example of interpolation divergence for a set of Lagrange polynomials. ... is the notation for divided differences. Alternatively, the remainder can be expressed as a ...
In mathematics, Neville's algorithm is an algorithm used for polynomial interpolation that was derived by the mathematician Eric Harold Neville in 1934. Given n + 1 points, there is a unique polynomial of degree ≤ n which goes through the given points.