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Characterization (mathematics)
In mathematics, a characterization of an object is a set of conditions that, while possibly different from the definition of the object, is logically equivalent to it. To say that "Property ''P'' characterizes object ''X''" is to say that not only does ''X'' have property ''P'', but that ''X'' is the ''only'' thing that has property ''P'' (i.e., ''P'' is a defining property of ''X''). Similarly, a set of properties ''P'' is said to characterize ''X'', when these properties distinguish ''X'' from all other objects. Even though a characterization identifies an object in a unique way, several characterizations can exist for a single object. Common mathematical expressions for a characterization of ''X'' in terms of ''P'' include "''P'' is necessary and sufficient for ''X''", and "''X'' holds if and only if ''P''". It is also common to find statements such as "Property ''Q'' characterizes ''Y'' up to isomorphism". The first type of statement says in different words that the extension o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mathematics
Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many areas of mathematics, which include number theory (the study of numbers), algebra (the study of formulas and related structures), geometry (the study of shapes and spaces that contain them), Mathematical analysis, analysis (the study of continuous changes), and set theory (presently used as a foundation for all mathematics). Mathematics involves the description and manipulation of mathematical object, abstract objects that consist of either abstraction (mathematics), abstractions from nature orin modern mathematicspurely abstract entities that are stipulated to have certain properties, called axioms. Mathematics uses pure reason to proof (mathematics), prove properties of objects, a ''proof'' consisting of a succession of applications of in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Categorization
Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identifying spam emails and deciding whether to give someone a driving license. As well as 'category', synonyms or near-synonyms for 'class' include 'type', 'species', 'order', 'concept', 'taxon', 'group', 'identification' and 'division'. The meaning of the word 'classification' (and its synonyms) may take on one of several related meanings. It may encompass both classification and the creation of classes, as for example in 'the task of categorizing pages in Wikipedia'; this overall activity is listed under taxonomy. It may refer exclusively to the underlying scheme of classes (which otherwise may be called a taxonomy). Or it may refer to the label given to an object by the classifier. Classification is a part of many different kinds of acti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Statistical Mechanics
In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. Sometimes called statistical physics or statistical thermodynamics, its applications include many problems in a wide variety of fields such as biology, neuroscience, computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ..., information theory and sociology. Its main purpose is to clarify the properties of matter in aggregate, in terms of physical laws governing atomic motion. Statistical mechanics arose out of the development of classical thermodynamics, a field for which it was successful in explaining macroscopic physical properties—such as temperature, pressure, and heat capacity—in terms of microscop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is the foundation of all quantum physics, which includes quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science. Quantum mechanics can describe many systems that classical physics cannot. Classical physics can describe many aspects of nature at an ordinary (macroscopic and Microscopic scale, (optical) microscopic) scale, but is not sufficient for describing them at very small submicroscopic (atomic and subatomic) scales. Classical mechanics can be derived from quantum mechanics as an approximation that is valid at ordinary scales. Quantum systems have Bound state, bound states that are Quantization (physics), quantized to Discrete mathematics, discrete values of energy, momentum, angular momentum, and ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamiltonian Mechanics
In physics, Hamiltonian mechanics is a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics that emerged in 1833. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta''. Both theories provide interpretations of classical mechanics and describe the same physical phenomena. Hamiltonian mechanics has a close relationship with geometry (notably, symplectic geometry and Poisson structures) and serves as a Hamilton–Jacobi equation, link between classical and quantum mechanics. Overview Phase space coordinates (''p'', ''q'') and Hamiltonian ''H'' Let (M, \mathcal L) be a Lagrangian mechanics, mechanical system with configuration space (physics), configuration space M and smooth Lagrangian_mechanics#Lagrangian, Lagrangian \mathcal L. Select a standard coordinate system (\boldsymbol,\boldsymbol) on M. The quantities \textstyle p_i(\boldsymbol,\boldsymbol,t) ~\stackrel~ / are called ''m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physics
Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events." It is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines. "Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences. Scientists of all disciplines use the ideas of physics, including chemists who study the structure of molecules, paleontologists who try to reconstruct how dinosaurs walked, and climatologists who study how human activities affect the atmosphere and oceans. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design a flat-screen TV, an interplanetary spacecraft, or even a better mousetrap without first understanding the basic laws of physics. (...) You will come to see physics as a towering achievement of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intermediate Value Theorem
In mathematical analysis, the intermediate value theorem states that if f is a continuous function whose domain contains the interval , then it takes on any given value between f(a) and f(b) at some point within the interval. This has two important corollaries: # If a continuous function has values of opposite sign inside an interval, then it has a root in that interval (Bolzano's theorem). # The image of a continuous function over an interval is itself an interval. Motivation This captures an intuitive property of continuous functions over the real numbers: given ''f'' continuous on ,2/math> with the known values f(1) = 3 and f(2) = 5, then the graph of y = f(x) must pass through the horizontal line y = 4 while x moves from 1 to 2. It represents the idea that the graph of a continuous function on a closed interval can be drawn without lifting a pencil from the paper. Theorem The intermediate value theorem states the following: Consider the closed interval I = ,b/math> ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metric Space
In mathematics, a metric space is a Set (mathematics), set together with a notion of ''distance'' between its Element (mathematics), elements, usually called point (geometry), points. The distance is measured by a function (mathematics), function called a metric or distance function. Metric spaces are a general setting for studying many of the concepts of mathematical analysis and geometry. The most familiar example of a metric space is 3-dimensional Euclidean space with its usual notion of distance. Other well-known examples are a sphere equipped with the angular distance and the hyperbolic plane. A metric may correspond to a Conceptual metaphor , metaphorical, rather than physical, notion of distance: for example, the set of 100-character Unicode strings can be equipped with the Hamming distance, which measures the number of characters that need to be changed to get from one string to another. Since they are very general, metric spaces are a tool used in many different bra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cauchy Sequence
In mathematics, a Cauchy sequence is a sequence whose elements become arbitrarily close to each other as the sequence progresses. More precisely, given any small positive distance, all excluding a finite number of elements of the sequence are less than that given distance from each other. Cauchy sequences are named after Augustin-Louis Cauchy; they may occasionally be known as fundamental sequences. It is not sufficient for each term to become arbitrarily close to the term. For instance, in the sequence of square roots of natural numbers: a_n=\sqrt n, the consecutive terms become arbitrarily close to each other – their differences a_-a_n = \sqrt-\sqrt = \frac d. As a result, no matter how far one goes, the remaining terms of the sequence never get close to ; hence the sequence is not Cauchy. The utility of Cauchy sequences lies in the fact that in a complete metric space (one where all such sequences are known to converge to a limit), the criterion for convergence depends ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolzano–Weierstrass Theorem
In mathematics, specifically in real analysis, the Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem, named after Bernard Bolzano and Karl Weierstrass, is a fundamental result about convergence in a finite-dimensional Euclidean space \R^n. The theorem states that each infinite bounded sequence in \R^n has a convergent subsequence. An equivalent formulation is that a subset of \R^n is sequentially compact if and only if it is closed and bounded. The theorem is sometimes called the sequential compactness theorem. History and significance The Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem is named after mathematicians Bernard Bolzano and Karl Weierstrass. It was actually first proved by Bolzano in 1817 as a lemma in the proof of the intermediate value theorem. Some fifty years later the result was identified as significant in its own right, and proven again by Weierstrass. It has since become an essential theorem of analysis. Proof First we prove the theorem for \mathbb (set of all real numbers), in which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nested Intervals
In mathematics, a sequence of nested intervals can be intuitively understood as an ordered collection of Interval (mathematics), intervals I_n on the Interval (mathematics), real number line with natural number, natural numbers n=1,2,3,\dots as an index. In order for a sequence of intervals to be considered nested intervals, two conditions have to be met: # Every interval in the sequence is contained in the previous one (I_ is always a subset of I_n). # The length of the intervals get arbitrarily small (meaning the length falls below every possible threshold \varepsilon after a certain index N). In other words, the left bound of the interval I_n can only increase (a_\geq a_n), and the right bound can only decrease (b_\leq b_n). Historically - long before anyone defined nested intervals in a textbook - people implicitly constructed such nestings for concrete calculation purposes. For example, the ancient Babylonia, Babylonians discovered a Methods of computing square roots, metho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greatest-lower-bound Property
In mathematics, the least-upper-bound property (sometimes called completeness, supremum property or l.u.b. property) is a fundamental property of the real numbers. More generally, a partially ordered set has the least-upper-bound property if every non-empty subset of with an upper bound has a ''least'' upper bound (supremum) in . Not every (partially) ordered set has the least upper bound property. For example, the set \mathbb of all rational numbers with its natural order does ''not'' have the least upper bound property. The least-upper-bound property is one form of the completeness axiom for the real numbers, and is sometimes referred to as Dedekind completeness.Willard says that an ordered space "X is Dedekind complete if every subset of X having an upper bound has a least upper bound." (pp. 124-5, Problem 17E.) It can be used to prove many of the fundamental results of real analysis, such as the intermediate value theorem, the Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem, the extreme value ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
