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A finite difference is a mathematical expression of the form f (x + b) − f (x + a).If a finite difference is divided by b − a, one gets a difference quotient.The approximation of derivatives by finite differences plays a central role in finite difference methods for the numerical solution of differential equations, especially boundary value problems.
For example, consider the ordinary differential equation ′ = + The Euler method for solving this equation uses the finite difference quotient (+) ′ to approximate the differential equation by first substituting it for u'(x) then applying a little algebra (multiplying both sides by h, and then adding u(x) to both sides) to get (+) + (() +).
Louis Melville Milne-Thomson CBE FRSE RAS (1 May 1891 – 21 August 1974) was an English applied mathematician who wrote several classic textbooks on applied mathematics, including The Calculus of Finite Differences, Theoretical Hydrodynamics, and Theoretical Aerodynamics.
The classical finite-difference approximations for numerical differentiation are ill-conditioned. However, if f {\displaystyle f} is a holomorphic function , real-valued on the real line, which can be evaluated at points in the complex plane near x {\displaystyle x} , then there are stable methods.
Finite differences are composed from differences in a sequence of values, or the values of a function sampled at discrete points. Finite differences are used both in interpolation and numerical analysis, and also play an important role in combinatorics and analytic number theory. The prototypical finite difference equation is the Newton series.
Other books on similar topics include A Treatise on the Calculus of Finite Differences by George Boole, Introduction to Difference Equations by S. Goldberg, [5] Difference Equations: An Introduction with Applications by W. G. Kelley and A. C. Peterson, An Introduction to Difference Equations by S. Elaydi, Theory of Difference Equations: An Introduction by V. Lakshmikantham and D. Trigiante ...
Backward finite difference [ edit ] To get the coefficients of the backward approximations from those of the forward ones, give all odd derivatives listed in the table in the previous section the opposite sign, whereas for even derivatives the signs stay the same.
In mathematics, time-scale calculus is a unification of the theory of difference equations with that of differential equations, unifying integral and differential calculus with the calculus of finite differences, offering a formalism for studying hybrid systems.