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The simplest definition for a potential gradient F in one dimension is the following: [1] = = where ϕ(x) is some type of scalar potential and x is displacement (not distance) in the x direction, the subscripts label two different positions x 1, x 2, and potentials at those points, ϕ 1 = ϕ(x 1), ϕ 2 = ϕ(x 2).
This function represents half of the rate of energy dissipation of the system through friction. The force of friction is negative the velocity gradient of the dissipation function, F → f = − ∇ v R ( v ) {\displaystyle {\vec {F}}_{f}=-\nabla _{v}R(v)} , analogous to a force being equal to the negative position gradient of a potential.
The same approach implies that the negative of the Laplacian of the gravitational potential is the mass distribution. Often the charge (or mass) distribution are given, and the associated potential is unknown. Finding the potential function subject to suitable boundary conditions is equivalent to solving Poisson's equation.
Using the Green's function for the three-variable Laplace operator, one can integrate the Poisson equation in order to determine the potential function. Green's functions can be expanded in terms of the basis elements (harmonic functions) which are determined using the separable coordinate systems for the linear partial differential equation ...
In mathematics and physics, Laplace's equation is a second-order partial differential equation named after Pierre-Simon Laplace, who first studied its properties.This is often written as = or =, where = = is the Laplace operator, [note 1] is the divergence operator (also symbolized "div"), is the gradient operator (also symbolized "grad"), and (,,) is a twice-differentiable real-valued function.
The electric field of the dipole is the negative gradient of the potential, leading to: [7] = (^) ^. Thus, although two closely spaced opposite charges are not quite an ideal electric dipole (because their potential at short distances is not that of a dipole), at distances much larger than their separation, their dipole moment p appears ...
Siméon Denis Poisson. Poisson's equation is an elliptic partial differential equation of broad utility in theoretical physics.For example, the solution to Poisson's equation is the potential field caused by a given electric charge or mass density distribution; with the potential field known, one can then calculate the corresponding electrostatic or gravitational (force) field.
In this case, the force can be defined as the negative of the vector gradient of the potential field. For example, gravity is a conservative force. The associated potential is the gravitational potential, often denoted by or , corresponding to the energy per unit mass as a function of position.