differential equations

Meaning

Differential equations are math equations that relate a function to its rate of change. They model how quantities evolve in time or space, and appear in physics, biology, and economics.

Synonyms

math differential equation analytic geometry linear algebra simultaneous equations

Examples

Differential equations won't help you much in the design of aeroplanes - not yet, anyhow. Nevil Shute

I became an atheist because, as a graduate student studying quantum physics, life seemed to be reducible to second-order differential equations. Mathematics, chemistry and physics had it all. And I didn't see any need to go beyond that. Francis Collins

A baby is lots more fun than differential equations. Robert A. Heinlein

Any progress in the theory of partial differential equations must also bring about a progress in Mechanics. Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi

Baseball players or cricketers do not need to be able to solve explicitly the non-linear differential equations which govern the flight of the ball. They just catch it. Paul Ormerod

The emphasis on mathematical methods seems to be shifted more towards combinatorics and set theory - and away from the algorithm of differential equations which dominates mathematical physics. John von Neumann

Words in the phrase

differential equations

Close letter words and terms

differential discovery differential equation differential equation with constant coefficients differential examination differential form differential Galois extension