BIOE50005 - Mathematics and Engineering 2
(Alpha); BIOE50006 – Mathematics 2 (Alpha)
Week 1:
Scalar Fields, Vector Fields, and the 𝜵 Operator
Neal K. Bangerter and Chiu Fan Lee
[Link]@[Link]
28/10/2022 1
Course Organization - Alpha
• Lectures: Fridays 4 – 6pm in RSM 131
• Study groups: Tuesdays noon – 3pm (White City) ß problem sets available Friday
• Office hours: Wednesdays 11am – 1pm in RSM 3.11
• Maths 2 Alpha Content:
• Vector calculus
• Multiple integrals à Line, surface, & volume integrals
• Theorems connecting integrals and vector calculus àStokes’ & Gauss’s theorems
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 2
Today
• Scalar fields
• Vector fields
𝝏 𝝏 𝝏
#+
• Del (or nabla) operator à 𝜵 = 𝝏𝒙 𝒙 # + 𝒛'
𝒚
𝝏𝒚 𝝏𝒛
• Using 𝜵
• Gradient (𝛻) of a scalar field
• Divergence (𝛻·) of a vector field
• Curl (𝛻×) of a vector field
• Laplacian (𝛻· 𝛻) or 𝛻 % of a scalar field
• Identities involving 𝜵
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 3
Motivation
Why Vector Calculus?
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 4
Why Vector Calculus?
Example: Describing cells in a culture illustrating wound healing
• Cell density as a function
of space 𝜌(𝑥, 𝑦)
• 𝜌: ℝ! → ℝ is a scalar field
[Link]
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 5
Why Vector Calculus?
Example: Describing cells in a culture illustrating wound healing
• Cell motility as a function of
space 𝑣(𝑥,
⃗ 𝑦)
⃗ ℝ! → ℝ! is a vector field
• 𝑣:
[Link]
Generally, both 𝜌 and 𝑣⃗ depend on time as well!
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 6
Why Vector Calculus?
• Scalar fields
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Elevation
• Vector fields
• Blood & lymph circulation in the body
• Traffic on roads
• Plumbing
• Preferential direction of diffusion
Image from M. Andersson’s
homepage
(Linköping University)
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 7
Motivation
Why Multiple Integrals?
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 8
Why Multiple Integrals?
• Centre of mass consideration is important for
prosthetic design
Pictures from [Link]
• How is centre of mass calculated? head
y
xCOM =
òò m( x, y ) xdxdy
yCOM =
òò m( x, y ) ydxdy
òò m( x, y)dxdy òò m( x, y)dxdy
toe
x
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 9
Why Multiple Integrals?
• Work done on the red magnetic
particle as it moves along a helix in a
magnetic field?
• Work = force * distance
• Line integral over the path of the helix!
[Link]
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 10
Why Multiple Integrals?
• To calculate length, area, and volume of an object
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 11
Motivation
Vector Calculus
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 12
Scalar Fields
f(x,y): ℝ% → ℝ
This is a function of two
independent variables.
How do we visualize if it
were a scalar field in
three-space f(x,y,z)?
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 13
Vector Fields
𝒗: ℝ𝟐 → ℝ𝟐
This is a function of two
independent variables.
How do we visualize if it
were a vector field in
three-space?
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 14
The Del (or Nabla) Operator: 𝜵
𝝏 𝝏 𝝏
𝜵= #+
𝒙 #+
𝒚 𝒛'
𝝏𝒙 𝝏𝒚 𝝏𝒛
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 15
Gradient: 𝛻
• Operates on a scalar field and produces a vector field!
• Intuition: gives direction of most rapid change of scalar field
𝛻𝑓(𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑣(𝑥,
⃗ 𝑦)
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 16
Gradient: 𝛻
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 17
Divergence: 𝛻·
• Operates on a vector field and produces a scalar field!
• Roughly a measure of a vector field's increase in the
direction it points
• More accurately, it is a measure of that field's tendency to
converge toward or diverge from a point (a source or sink)
𝜕𝑢, 𝜕𝑢-
𝛻-𝑢 = +
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 18
Divergence: 𝛻·
𝜕𝑢, 𝜕𝑢-
𝛻-𝑢 = + A source: 𝑢 = (𝑥, 𝑦)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
Figure from Wikipedia
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 19
Divergence: 𝛻·
𝑢 = (−𝑥 ! , 0)
Figure from Wikipedia
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 20
Divergence: 𝛻·
𝑢 = (𝑦, −𝑥, 0)
Figure from Wikipedia
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 21
Curl: 𝛻×
• Operates on a vector field and produces a vector field!
• Gives an indication of magnitude and direction of rotation
of a vector field
• Curl at a point is proportional to the on-axis torque that a
tiny pinwheel would be subjected to if it were centred at
that point.
𝑥% 𝑦% 𝑧̂
𝜕 𝜕 𝜕 𝜕𝑢# 𝜕𝑢" 𝜕𝑢# 𝜕𝑢! 𝜕𝑢" 𝜕𝑢!
𝛻×𝑢 = = − 𝑥% − − 𝑦% + − 𝑧̂
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 [Link]
𝑢! 𝑢" 𝑢#
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 22
Curl: 𝛻×
𝑢 = (𝑦, −𝑥, 0)
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 23
Curl: 𝛻×
𝑢 = (𝑦, −𝑥, 0) 𝛻×𝑢 = (0,0, −2)
Figures from Wikipedia
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 24
Curl: 𝛻×
𝑢 = (0, −𝑥 ! , 0)
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 25
Curl: 𝛻×
𝑢 = (0, −𝑥 ! , 0) 𝛻×𝑢 = (0,0, −2𝑥)
Figures from Wikipedia
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 26
!
Laplace Operator or Laplacian: ∆ = 𝛻· 𝛻 = 𝛻
• Operates on a scalar field and produces a scalar field!
• Divergence (scalar field) of the gradient (vector field) of a scalar field
• Appears all over in differential equations describing physical phenomena
• Electric and gravitational potentials
• The diffusion equation
• Heat and fluid flow
• Wave equation
• Quantum mechanics
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 27
Identities Involving 𝛻
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 28
Identities Involving 𝛻
Distributive Properties
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 29
Identities Involving 𝛻
Multiplication by a scalar field
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 30
Identities Involving 𝛻
Curl of a gradient is always zero
Divergence of a curl is alwayszero
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 31
Summary
• Scalar fields: scalar function often of multiple variables (like x, y, z)
• Vector fields: vector function often of multiple variables (like x, y, z)
𝝏 𝝏 𝝏
• Del (or nabla) operator: 𝜵 = 𝝏𝒙 𝒙#+ 𝒚 # + 𝒛'
𝝏𝒚 𝝏𝒛
• Gradient (𝜵) of a scalar field gives direction of most rapid change
• Divergence (𝜵·) of a vector field gives the magnitude of a source or sink
• Curl (𝜵×) of a vector field characterises the rotation of the field
• Laplacian (𝜵· 𝜵) or 𝜵𝟐 of a scalar field: Ubiquitous in engineering and the physical
sciences
• Identities involving 𝜵: Easy to derive from definitions
28/10/2022 Maths 2 Alpha 32
