Concept information
Preferred term
calculus of variations
Definition
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The calculus of variations (or variational calculus) is a field of mathematical analysis that uses variations, which are small changes in functions and functionals, to find maxima and minima of functionals: mappings from a set of functions to the real numbers. Functionals are often expressed as definite integrals involving functions and their derivatives. Functions that maximize or minimize functionals may be found using the Euler–Lagrange equation of the calculus of variations.
(Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calculus_of_variations)
Broader concept
Narrower concepts
Entry terms
- variational calculus
In other languages
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French
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calcul variationnel
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/PSR-LFNB3N57-B
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