Dimension (vector space)In mathematics, the dimension of a vector space V is the cardinality (i.e., the number of vectors) of a basis of V over its base field. It is sometimes called Hamel dimension (after Georg Hamel) or algebraic dimension to distinguish it from other types of dimension. For every vector space there exists a basis, and all bases of a vector space have equal cardinality; as a result, the dimension of a vector space is uniquely defined. We say is if the dimension of is finite, and if its dimension is infinite.
Covariance and contravariance of vectorsIn physics, especially in multilinear algebra and tensor analysis, covariance and contravariance describe how the quantitative description of certain geometric or physical entities changes with a change of basis. In modern mathematical notation, the role is sometimes swapped. A simple illustrative case is that of a vector. For a vector, once a set of basis vectors has been defined, then the components of that vector will always vary opposite to that of the basis vectors. A vector is therefore a contravariant tensor.
Rigid body dynamicsIn the physical science of dynamics, rigid-body dynamics studies the movement of systems of interconnected bodies under the action of external forces. The assumption that the bodies are rigid (i.e. they do not deform under the action of applied forces) simplifies analysis, by reducing the parameters that describe the configuration of the system to the translation and rotation of reference frames attached to each body. This excludes bodies that display fluid, highly elastic, and plastic behavior.
Rotation around a fixed axisRotation around a fixed axis or axial rotation is a special case of rotational motion around a axis of rotation fixed, stationary, or static in three-dimensional space. This type of motion excludes the possibility of the instantaneous axis of rotation changing its orientation and cannot describe such phenomena as wobbling or precession. According to Euler's rotation theorem, simultaneous rotation along a number of stationary axes at the same time is impossible; if two rotations are forced at the same time, a new axis of rotation will result.
Muscle contractionMuscle contraction is the activation of tension-generating sites within muscle cells. In physiology, muscle contraction does not necessarily mean muscle shortening because muscle tension can be produced without changes in muscle length, such as when holding something heavy in the same position. The termination of muscle contraction is followed by muscle relaxation, which is a return of the muscle fibers to their low tension-generating state.
Lagrangian mechanicsIn physics, Lagrangian mechanics is a formulation of classical mechanics founded on the stationary-action principle (also known as the principle of least action). It was introduced by the Italian-French mathematician and astronomer Joseph-Louis Lagrange in his 1788 work, Mécanique analytique. Lagrangian mechanics describes a mechanical system as a pair consisting of a configuration space and a smooth function within that space called a Lagrangian. For many systems, where and are the kinetic and potential energy of the system, respectively.
Hadamard's dynamical systemIn physics and mathematics, the Hadamard dynamical system (also called Hadamard's billiard or the Hadamard–Gutzwiller model) is a chaotic dynamical system, a type of dynamical billiards. Introduced by Jacques Hadamard in 1898, and studied by Martin Gutzwiller in the 1980s, it is the first dynamical system to be proven chaotic. The system considers the motion of a free (frictionless) particle on the Bolza surface, i.e, a two-dimensional surface of genus two (a donut with two holes) and constant negative curvature; this is a compact Riemann surface.
