Finite Element Methods
In mathematics, finite element method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to boundary value problems. It uses variational methods (the Calculus of variations) to minimize an error function and produce a stable solution. Analogous to the idea that connecting many tiny straight lines can approximate a larger circle, FEM encompasses all the methods for connecting many simple element equations over many small subdomains, named finite elements, to approximate a more complex equation over a larger domain.
Read more about Finite Element Methods: History, Discretization, Comparison To The Finite Difference Method, Application
Famous quotes containing the words finite, element and/or methods:
“For it is only the finite that has wrought and suffered; the infinite lies stretched in smiling repose.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a “sense” of humor and guards it as his most significant spiritual trait, yet rejects humor as a contaminating element wherever found. America is a nation of comics and comedians; nevertheless, humor has no stature and is accepted only after the death of the perpetrator.”
—E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)
“A writer who writes, “I am alone” ... can be considered rather comical. It is comical for a man to recognize his solitude by addressing a reader and by using methods that prevent the individual from being alone. The word alone is just as general as the word bread. To pronounce it is to summon to oneself the presence of everything the word excludes.”
—Maurice Blanchot (b. 1907)