Fun with DEs

Ha. we have enough trouble doing vectors that just deal with *two* coordinates.

that mess is big and scary.

4

Give me a cookie :D

So...many...numbers! :Oo: *explodes*

What math is that from? BJ likes math.

Systems of linear differential equations with driving terms. I've kinda given up on people here trying to figure it out anyways, and I checked partially with MATLAB and Maple and ODE Architect, so whatever.

I'm going to start discussing The Great Gatsby if you guys don't knock off the math threads.

Please do, Yams. I need to know what happens in Chapter 2. :)

We can start a new thread for discussion on topics that are not about solving linear systems of ODEs with driving terms, thanks. :D < / modwhore >
Is no one else going to try this? :(

I often wonder how this applies to the real world, or if it's just because a bunch of old men with funny mustaches thought it would be funny.

Systems of DEs have a lot of applications in engineering systems and control theory. Often, when designing a system, be it anything from an actuator that controls spoiler movement in aircraft to microsurgery robots (nanomachines and molecular engineering are seriously ALL controls), it is wise to start with an ideal mathematical model that you want to fulfill with physical elements.

A lot of computer basics rest on DEs as well, and approximating them with finite state machines. While the above problem concerns continuous states (such as x' and x), FSMs discretize the process, and essentially act as a registry for values that are passing through a processor.

Another application I know of that I'm not involved in is species survival and ecological modeling. I had to do a little bit of it, but I don't know the details of how it works as well as other things.

Differential Equations are integral (full pun intended) to many technical fields. (I'm in Computer Engineering and we sometimes use first and second order DEs to describe some electrical circuits.)

However, I'm sure that most people here on the forums either don't use DEs regularly at all or don't really care about them. (or both :p)