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A line integral of a scalar field is thus a line integral of a vector field, where the vectors are always tangential to the line of the integration. Line integrals of vector fields are independent of the parametrization r in absolute value, but they do depend on its orientation. Specifically, a reversal in the orientation of the parametrization ...
where ∇φ denotes the gradient vector field of φ. The gradient theorem implies that line integrals through gradient fields are path-independent. In physics this theorem is one of the ways of defining a conservative force. By placing φ as potential, ∇φ is a conservative field.
A surface integral generalizes double integrals to integration over a surface (which may be a curved set in space); it can be thought of as the double integral analog of the line integral. The function to be integrated may be a scalar field or a vector field. The value of the surface integral is the sum of the field at all points on the surface.
The equivalence of Faraday's law in differential and integral form follows likewise. The line integrals and curls are analogous to quantities in classical fluid dynamics: the circulation of a fluid is the line integral of the fluid's flow velocity field around a closed loop, and the vorticity of the fluid is the curl of the velocity field.
In vector calculus, a conservative vector field is a vector field that is the gradient of some function. [1] A conservative vector field has the property that its line integral is path independent; the choice of path between two points does not change the value of the line integral. Path independence of the line integral is equivalent to the ...
In vector calculus, Green's theorem relates a line integral around a simple closed curve C to a double integral over the plane region D (surface in ) bounded by C. It is the two-dimensional special case of Stokes' theorem (surface in R 3 {\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{3}} ).
Field lines of a vector field v, around the boundary of an open curved surface with infinitesimal line element dl along boundary, and through its interior with dS the infinitesimal surface element and n the unit normal to the surface. Top: Circulation is the line integral of v around a closed loop C. Project v along dl, then sum.
Integral curves are known by various other names, depending on the nature and interpretation of the differential equation or vector field. In physics, integral curves for an electric field or magnetic field are known as field lines, and integral curves for the velocity field of a fluid are known as streamlines.