Many quantities in the physical world can be represented by smoothly varying functions of position in two or three dimensions. This subject develops, with an emphasis on relevant calculations, the differential and integral calculus of scalar and vector fields in cartesian and curvilinear coordinates. Three important partial differential equations are introduced: the wave equation, the heat equation and Laplace's equation; to solve them, they are reduced to several ordinary differential equations by the technique of separation of variables. Laplace transforms are introduced as a technique for solving constant coefficient ordinary differential equations with discontinuous forcing terms, such as those which arise in electronics. Thus we generalize many of the techniques used in first year (to analyse functions of a single variable) to the several variable case, as most real-world systems depend crucially on multiple factors.

Subject rules

Readings