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Vector Calculus Essentials

The document discusses key concepts in vector calculus including: - The directional derivative of a scalar point function, which is the rate of change of the function in a particular direction given by the dot product of the gradient and a unit direction vector. - The unit normal vector to a surface defined by a scalar function is given by the gradient of the function divided by its magnitude. - The equation of the tangent plane to a surface at a point is defined as the negative dot product of the position vector and the gradient of the surface function. - Divergence and curl are vector operators that express the source/sink behavior and rotation of vector fields, respectively. Divergence is the sum of

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103 views6 pages

Vector Calculus Essentials

The document discusses key concepts in vector calculus including: - The directional derivative of a scalar point function, which is the rate of change of the function in a particular direction given by the dot product of the gradient and a unit direction vector. - The unit normal vector to a surface defined by a scalar function is given by the gradient of the function divided by its magnitude. - The equation of the tangent plane to a surface at a point is defined as the negative dot product of the position vector and the gradient of the surface function. - Divergence and curl are vector operators that express the source/sink behavior and rotation of vector fields, respectively. Divergence is the sum of

Uploaded by

pradhapd
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

VECTOR CALCULUS

Directional derivative
The derivative of a point function (scalar or vector) in a particular
direction is called its directional derivative along the direction.
The directional derivative of a scalar point function in a given
direction is the rate of change of in the direction. It is given by the
component of gradin that direction.
The directional derivative of a scalar point function
(x,y,z) in the direction of

a is given by

a
.a
.
Directional derivative of is maximum in the direction of .
Hence the maximum directional derivative is or grad
Unit normal vector to the surface
If (x, y, z) be a scalar function, then (x, y, z) = c represents
A surface and the unit normal vector to the surface is given by

Equation of the tangent plane and normal to the surface


Suppose

a is the position vector of the point ( , , )


On the surface (x, y, z) = c. If

000

xyz

r x i y jz k is the position vector of


any point (x,y,z) on the tangent plane to the surface at

a , then the
equation of the tangent plane to the surface at a given point

a on it is
given by 0 .

r a grad

If

r is the position vector of any point on the normal to the surface


at the point

a on it. The vector equation of the normal at a given point

a on the surface is 0

r a grad
The Cartesian form of the normal at ( , , )
(x,y,z) = c is
z
zz
y
yy
x
xxo

000

x y z on the surface

00

Divergence of a vector
If F(x, y, z)

is a continuously differentiable vector point function in


a given region of space, then the divergences of

F is defined by
z
F
k
y
F
j

x
F
F div F i

.
x
F
i

If

F F i F jF k

123

,then .( )

123

div F F i F jF k
i.e.,
z
F
y
F
x
F
div F

123

Solenoidal Vector
A vector

F is said to be solenoidal if 0

div F (ie) . 0

F
Curl of vector function
If F(x, y, z)

is a differentiable vector point function defined at each


point (x, y, z), then the curl of

F is defined by

curl F F
=
z
F
k
y
F
j
x
F
i

=
x
F
i

If

F F i F jF k

123

,then ( )

curl F F i F jF k
123F F F

123

xyz
ijk
curl F

y
F
x
F
k
z
F
x
F
j

z
F
y
F
i 323121
Curl

F is also said to be rotation

F
Irrotational Vector
A vector

F is called irrotational if Curl 0

F
(ie) if 0

F
Scalar Potential
If

F is an irrotational vector, then there exists a scalar function


Such that

F . Such a scalar function is called scalar potential of

F
Properties of Gradient
1. If f and g are two scalar point function that f gf g (or)
gradf ggradf gradg
Solution:

f g

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