Importance of Linear Algebra in Physics

In many areas of physics the mathematical idea of vectors play important role. Some of them are:

•When we take a particle which is traveling through the space, we must represent its velocity and its direction in which it is travelling by a vector which is in three dimensions and can be represented in space. When we talk about its path then we say that its path is a varying line and the variation is along with the time.
•The vector calculus which is nothing but the linear algebra of physics has a great role in calculating the structure of the bridge at several points of its constructions because these vectors provide us the direction and magnitude of the force that is acting at several isolated points.
•In electromagnetism theory the Maxwell’s equations are the main equation and they also deals with the vector fields which are changing with time according to the requirement thus it is also a linear algebra of physics
•The theory of relativity is another example of the linear algebra in physics because it uses the transformations of distance and time from one frame to other by means of a linear mapping of the vector spaces.
•The important branch of physics is quantum mechanics which also uses the vector spaces and their mapping in its various results thus it is also a linear algebra of physics.





In physics, we get to deal with lots of numbers and measurements. At some point, we will have to simplify those measurements. Matrices provide the sevice of simplifing these measurements for you. For all students studying physics, they will at some point have to use matrices to solve a problem.


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Posted by : Nareg Vartanian