- Vector operator
A vector operator is a type of
differential operator used invector calculus . Vector operators are defined in terms ofdel , and include thegradient ,divergence , and curl::operatorname{grad} equiv abla :operatorname{div} equiv abla cdot :operatorname{curl} equiv abla imesThe
Laplacian is:abla^2 equiv operatorname{div} operatorname{grad} equiv abla cdot ablaVector operators must always come right before the
scalar field orvector field on which they operate, in order to produce a result. E.g.:abla f yields the gradient of "f", but:f abla is just another vector operator, which is not operating on anything.A vector operator can operate on another vector operator, to produce a compound vector operator, as seen above in the case of the Laplacian.
ee also
*
del
*D'Alembertian operator Further reading
* H. M. Schey (1996) "Div, Grad, Curl, and All That: An Informal Text on Vector Calculus", ISBN 0-393-96997-5.
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