Concepts In Vector Analysis

Vector calculus (or vector analysis) is a branch of mathematics concerned with differentiation and integration of vector fields, primarily in 3 dimensional Euclidean space R3. The term “vector calculus” is sometimes used as a synonym for the broader subject of multivariable calculus, which includes vector calculus as well as partial differentiation and multiple integration. Vector calculus plays an important role in differential geometry and in the study of partial differential equations. It is used extensively in physics and engineering, especially in the description of electromagnetic fields, gravitational fields and fluid flow. Vector calculus was developed from quaternion analysis by J. Willard Gibbs and Oliver Heaviside near the end of the 19th century, and most of the notation and terminology was established by Gibbs and Edwin Bidwell Wilson in their 1901 book, Vector Analysis. The basic objects in vector calculus are scalar fields and vector fields. These are then combined or transformed under various operations, and integrated. This book has been designed as an introductory text which undertakes a through exploration the concepts and practices which define the subject. The book will prove very useful for students and teachers.