Description

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If you have been confused by vectors, vector calculus, tensor analysis, or quaternions, this book is for you. Packed with examples, including Matlab examples, this book will show you: How to use Matlab to calculate dot and cross products, and solve linear equations;How to prove any vector identity using Cartesian tensors;How to derive the expressions for gradient, divergence, Laplacian, and curl in any curvilinear coordinate system;How to understand covariant and contravariant components of a vector;The meaning of Christoffel symbols in covariant differentiation;How to derive the curvature tensor;How quaternions can be used to describe vector rotations in 3-D space.

About the Author

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Richard E. Haskell is Emeritus Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in Oakland University's School of Engineering and Computer Science. He received his Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1963. Following three years in the Air Force, where he conducted research at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories at Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA, he joined the faculty at Oakland University in Rochester, MI, where he helped to establish the new School of Engineering (later to become the School of Engineering and Computer Science). He served on the faculty at Oakland University for 46 years, where he developed and taught a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including courses in electromagnetic theory, coherent optics, pattern recognition, computer programming, microprocessors, embedded systems and digital design. His research interests included plasma physics, holography and coherent optics, pattern recognition and image processing, computer learning, and microprocessor applications and embedded systems. He is the author of over 30 books, ranging from Plasma Dynamics to Digital Design.