it used in our practical life.. for ex. in hills r in mountains
the gradient of a scalar function of any quantity is defined as a vector field having magnitude equal to the maximum space rate of change of the quantity and having a direction identical with the direction of displacement along which the rate of change is maximum.
Because Electric field can be expressed as the gradient of a scalar. Curl of a gradient is always zero by rules of vector calculus.
It is the rate of change in the vector for a unit change in the direction under consideration. It may be calculated as the derivative of the vector in the relevant direction.
In the name of God; It must be mentioned that a vector has two important characteristics; 1- direction and 2- quantity. in other word for identification a vector these two characteristics must be defined. for example when we speak about displacement of a body it must has direction and quantity. but about gradient, it has a general mean: difference. Also a specified mean may be defined for it: "any increase or decrease in a vector or scalar field". it is a vector field.
say what
what do you mean by gradient of a scalar field? what do you mean by gradient of a scalar field?
Any vector quantity does. Examples of vector quantities include but are not limited to . . . - Displacement - Velocity - Acceleration - Torque - Force - Electric field - Momentum - Poynting vector
The 'upside down' triangle symbol is the (greek?) letter Nabla. Nabla means the gradient. The gradient is the vector field whoose components are the partial derivatives of a function F given by (df/dx, df/dy).
Richmond Beckett McQuistan has written: 'Scalar and vector fields: a physical interpretation' -- subject(s): Scalar field theory, Vector analysis
Gradient= Change in field value/Distance
If you think of it as a hill, then the gradient points toward the top of the hill. With the same analogy, directional derivatives would tell the slope of the ground in a direction.
In general, it means a smooth blending. For graphics and optics, it is a smooth transition between colors. In things like meteorology, vector calculus and fluid dynamics it is a graph of vectors showing concentrations (of one form or another) between areas. In geometry, it means slope.