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In mathematics, the dot product or scalar product [note 1] is an algebraic operation that takes two equal-length sequences of numbers (usually coordinate vectors), and returns a single number. In Euclidean geometry, the dot product of the Cartesian coordinates of two vectors is widely used.
In Cartesian coordinates, the divergence of a continuously differentiable vector field = + + is the scalar-valued function: = = (, , ) (, , ) = + +.. As the name implies, the divergence is a (local) measure of the degree to which vectors in the field diverge.
The following are important identities in vector algebra.Identities that only involve the magnitude of a vector ‖ ‖ and the dot product (scalar product) of two vectors A·B, apply to vectors in any dimension, while identities that use the cross product (vector product) A×B only apply in three dimensions, since the cross product is only defined there.
Vector algebra relations — regarding operations on individual vectors such as dot product, cross product, etc. Vector calculus identities — regarding operations on vector fields such as divergence, gradient, curl, etc.
The cross product occurs frequently in the study of rotation, where it is used to calculate torque and angular momentum. It can also be used to calculate the Lorentz force exerted on a charged particle moving in a magnetic field. The dot product is used to determine the work done by a constant force.
The formula for the closest point to the origin may be expressed more succinctly using notation from linear algebra.The expression + + in the definition of a plane is a dot product (,,) (,,), and the expression + + appearing in the solution is the squared norm | (,,) |.
The outer product of tensors is also referred to as their tensor product, and can be used to define the tensor algebra. The outer product contrasts with: The dot product (a special case of "inner product"), which takes a pair of coordinate vectors as input and produces a scalar
The dot products on every tangent plane, packaged together into one mathematical object, are a Riemannian metric. In differential geometry , a Riemannian manifold is a geometric space on which many geometric notions such as distance, angles, length, volume, and curvature are defined.