Formal Definition
Mathematically, an energy landscape is a continuous function associating each physical state with an energy, where is a topological space.
In the continuous case, where is the number of degrees of freedom of the system. The graph of a continuous energy landscape is a hypersurface in .
Hills and valleys in the energy lanscape correpond to local maxima and minima of, respectively.
Read more about this topic: Energy Landscape
Famous quotes containing the words formal and/or definition:
“I will not let him stir
Till I have used the approvèd means I have,
With wholesome syrups, drugs, and holy prayers,
To make of him a formal man again.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this—”devoted and obedient.” This definition would do just as well for a porter. It might even do for a horse. It would not do for a policeman.”
—Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)