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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.
A difference engine is an automatic mechanical calculator designed to tabulate polynomial functions. It was designed in the 1820s, and was first created by Charles Babbage . The name difference engine is derived from the method of divided differences , a way to interpolate or tabulate functions by using a small set of polynomial co-efficients.
Newton's form has the simplicity that the new points are always added at one end: Newton's forward formula can add new points to the right, and Newton's backward formula can add new points to the left. The accuracy of polynomial interpolation depends on how close the interpolated point is to the middle of the x values of the set of points used ...
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.
Isaac Newton's notation for differentiation (also called the dot notation, fluxions, or sometimes, crudely, the flyspeck notation [11] for differentiation) places a dot over the dependent variable. That is, if y is a function of t, then the derivative of y with respect to t is
There are two main descriptions of motion: dynamics and kinematics.Dynamics is general, since the momenta, forces and energy of the particles are taken into account. In this instance, sometimes the term dynamics refers to the differential equations that the system satisfies (e.g., Newton's second law or Euler–Lagrange equations), and sometimes to the solutions to those equations.
In mathematical analysis, the mean value theorem for divided differences generalizes the mean value theorem to higher derivatives. [ 1 ] Statement of the theorem
Difference quotients may also find relevance in applications involving Time discretization, where the width of the time step is used for the value of h. The difference quotient is sometimes also called the Newton quotient [10] [12] [13] [14] (after Isaac Newton) or Fermat's difference quotient (after Pierre de Fermat). [15]