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authorPrefetch2022-09-12 21:46:01 +0200
committerPrefetch2022-09-12 21:46:01 +0200
commit6987dcbd64f3d4b3c3c43a8fd96a03a0ce5b56eb (patch)
tree261f5cab7b453e9af59704195e6585df8a97e406 /content/know/concept/calculus-of-variations/index.pdc
parentd6f086e33d143ec6e84b0058e7d8832c166f4427 (diff)
Post "Revisiting my email server in 2022"
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diff --git a/content/know/concept/calculus-of-variations/index.pdc b/content/know/concept/calculus-of-variations/index.pdc
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--- a/content/know/concept/calculus-of-variations/index.pdc
+++ b/content/know/concept/calculus-of-variations/index.pdc
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ markup: pandoc
# Calculus of variations
The **calculus of variations** lays the mathematical groundwork
-for Lagrangian mechanics.
+for [Lagrangian mechanics](/know/concept/lagrangian-mechanics/).
Consider a **functional** $J$, mapping a function $f(x)$ to a scalar value
by integrating over the so-called **Lagrangian** $L$,
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ If $J$ in some way measures the physical "cost" (e.g. energy) of
the path $f(x)$ taken by a physical system,
the **principle of least action** states that $f$ will be a minimum of $J[f]$,
so for example the expended energy will be minimized.
+In practice, various cost metrics may be used,
+so maxima of $J[f]$ are also interesting to us.
If $f(x, \varepsilon\!=\!0)$ is the optimal route, then a slightly
different (and therefore worse) path between the same two points can be expressed
@@ -238,7 +240,7 @@ $$\begin{aligned}
## Constraints
-So far, for multiple functions $f_1, ... f_N$,
+So far, for multiple functions $f_1, ..., f_N$,
we have been assuming that all $f_n$ are independent, and by extension all $\eta_n$.
Suppose that we now have $M < N$ constraints $\phi_m$
that all $f_n$ need to obey, introducing implicit dependencies between them.