Technical Java™: Developing Scientific and Engineering Applications

Chapter 20. Solving Differential Equations

Differential equations, those that define how the value of one variable changes with respect to another, are used to model a wide range of physical processes. You will use differential equations in chemistry, dynamics, fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, and almost every other scientific or engineering endeavor. A differential equation that has one independent variable is called an ordinary differential equation or ODE. Examples of ODEs include the equations to model the motion of a spring or the boundary layer equations from fluid dynamics. A partial differential equation (PDE) has more than one independent variable. The Navier-Stokes equations are an example of a set of coupled partial differential equations ...