Definition
A partial differential equation is hyperbolic at a point P provided that the Cauchy problem is uniquely solvable in a neighborhood of P for any initial data given on a non-characteristic hypersurface passing through P. Here the prescribed initial data consists of all (transverse) derivatives of the function on the surface up to one less than the order of the differential equation.
Read more about this topic: Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equations
Famous quotes containing the word definition:
“I’m beginning to think that the proper definition of “Man” is “an animal that writes letters.””
—Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson] (1832–1898)
“Was man made stupid to see his own stupidity?
Is God by definition indifferent, beyond us all?
Is the eternal truth man’s fighting soul
Wherein the Beast ravens in its own avidity?”
—Richard Eberhart (b. 1904)
“Mothers often are too easily intimidated by their children’s negative reactions...When the child cries or is unhappy, the mother reads this as meaning that she is a failure. This is why it is so important for a mother to know...that the process of growing up involves by definition things that her child is not going to like. Her job is not to create a bed of roses, but to help him learn how to pick his way through the thorns.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)