Statement of The Equation
The Poisson Equation is
where is the Laplace operator, and f and φ are real or complex-valued functions on a manifold. When the manifold is Euclidean space, the Laplace operator is often denoted as ∇2 and so Poisson's equation is frequently written as
In three-dimensional Cartesian coordinates, it takes the form
For vanishing f, this equation becomes Laplace's equation
The Poisson equation may be solved using a Green's function; a general exposition of the Green's function for the Poisson equation is given in the article on the screened Poisson equation. There are various methods for numerical solution. The relaxation method, an iterative algorithm, is one example.
Read more about this topic: Poisson's Equation
Famous quotes containing the words statement of the, statement of, statement and/or equation:
“It is commonplace that a problem stated is well on its way to solution, for statement of the nature of a problem signifies that the underlying quality is being transformed into determinate distinctions of terms and relations or has become an object of articulate thought.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)
“The most distinct and beautiful statement of any truth must take at last the mathematical form.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The most distinct and beautiful statement of any truth must take at last the mathematical form.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Jail sentences have many functions, but one is surely to send a message about what our society abhors and what it values. This week, the equation was twofold: female infidelity twice as bad as male abuse, the life of a woman half as valuable as that of a man. The killing of the woman taken in adultery has a long history and survives today in many cultures. One of those is our own.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)