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Vector calculus, or vector analysis, is concerned with differentiation and integration of vector fields, primarily in 3-dimensional Euclidean space The term "vector calculus" is sometimes used as a synonym for the broader subject of multivariable calculus, which spans vector calculus as well as partial differentiation and multiple integration. Vector calculus plays an important role in differential geometry and in the study of partial differential equations. It is used extensively in physics and engineering, especially in the description of electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields, and fluid flow. Vector calculus was developed from quaternion analysis by J. Willard Gibbs and Oliver Heaviside near the end of the 19th century, and most of the notation and terminology was established by Gibbs and Edwin Bidwell Wilson in their 1901 book, Vector Analysis. In the conventional form using cross products, vector calculus does not generalize to higher dimensions, while the alternative approach of geometric algebra which uses exterior products does (see below for more). Scalar field A scalar field associates a scalar value to every point in a space. The scalar is a mathematical number representing a physical quantity. Examples of scalar fields in applications include the temperature distribution throughout space, the pressure distribution in a fluid, and spin-zero quantum fields (known as scalar bosons), such as the Higgs field. These fields are the subject of scalar field theory. Vector field A vector field is an assignment of a vector to each point in a space. A vector field in the plane, for instance, can be visualized as a collection of arrows with a given magnitude and direction each attached to a point in the plane. Vector fields are often used to model, for example, the speed and direction of a moving fluid throughout space, or the strength and direction of some force, such as the magnetic or gravitational force, as it changes from point to point. This can be used, for example, to calculate work done over a line.
[2]Paolo Prandoni, [3]LCAV, EPFL
The concept of "basis" for a vector space is one of the most profound
and fruitful ideas in linear algebra. Basis vectors are the "building
blocks" that all other vectors are built from; by "disassembling" a
vector into a linear combination of basis elements we are able to "look
inside" the vector and highlight many of its relevant features.
A vector space has an infinite number o [2]Paolo Prandoni, [3]LCAV, EPFL
In [1]:
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
import scipy.signal as sp
import seaborn as sns
sns.set()
In [2]:
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = (14,4)
The basic reproduction number[4]¶
The propagation mechanism of an epidemic such as the one caused by
SARS-CoV-2 virus can be roughly modeled, at least in its inital phase,
as a process in which each infected individ