1/21/2019 Vector Calculus

Vector Calculus
home > basic math > vector calculus

Differentiation With Respect To Time

Differentiation with respect to time can be written in several forms.

dx dx1 dx2 dx3

velocity = = ( , , )   = ẋ = ẋi = xi,t
dt dt dt dt

dv dv1 dv2 dv3

acceleration = = ( , , )   = v̇ = v̇ i = vi,t
dt dt dt dt

2 2 2 2
d x d x1 d x2 d x3
acceleration = = ( , , )   = ẍ = ẍi = xi,tt
2 2 2 2
dt dt dt dt

One can use the derivative with respect to t , or the dot, which is probably the most popular, or the comma notation, which is
a popular subset of tensor notation. Note that the notation xi,tt somewhat violates the tensor notation rule of double-indices
automatically summing from 1 to 3. This is because time does not have 3 dimensions as space does, so it is understood that
no summation is performed.

Differentiation of a Vector

Suppose v 2
= (5t , sin t, e
3t
. Then v̇ equals
)

3t
v̇ = (10t, cos t, 3e )

Helix Example

The position of an ant crawling around and up a pipe is given by

x = (2 cos t, 2 sin t, 5t). The velocity, v, equals

ẋ = v = (−2 sin t, 2 cos t, 5)

and the acceleration is

ẍ = v̇ = a = (−2 cos t, −2 sin t, 0)

which always points toward the center of the pipe.

Loading [MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 1/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus

Differentiation With Respect To A Coordinate

Suppose you want to differentiate a function, f (x, y, z), with respect to y. This is written as

∂f ∂f
or or f,2
∂y ∂ x2

where the comma is common tensor notation for a derivative.

In the more general case, differentiation with respect to xj is (yes, this is a gradient)

∂f
or f ,j
∂ xj

Differentiation of a vector, v, is

∂v ∂ vx ∂ vy ∂ vz
or ( , , ) or vi,j
∂ xj ∂ xj ∂ xj ∂ xj

Differentiation of a tensor, σ, is

∂σ
or σij,k
∂ xk

As with vectors, every component of a tensor is differentiated.

Differentiation of a Vector

Suppose v . Then equals

2 2 3 ∂v
= (3x − 2y, z + x, y − z)
∂y

∂v
2
= (−2, 0, 3y )
∂y

Gradient
The gradient of a function, f (x) , is written, ∇f (x), and is a vector. It is formed by differentiating the function with respect to
each coordinate.

∂f ∂f ∂f
∇f (x) = ( , , )
∂ x1 ∂ x2 ∂ x3

Tensor Notation
∂f
The gradient can also be written as ∂x i
, or simply as f,i .

Loading [MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js
Gradient Example
http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 2/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus

Suppose f (x) = 3x
2
− 2yz
2
. Then the gradient is

2
∇f (x) = (6x, −2z , −4yz)

The gradient of a scalar function tells how much the function increases along each global coordinate. In the above example,
f increases at the rate of 6x along the x axis, −2z along the y axis, and −4yz along the z axis.
2

Coincidentally, the gradient also gives the direction, or orientation, in space that corresponds to the greatest rate of increase.
The following example, in 2D space, demonstrates this.

2nd Gradient Example

Take for example the paraboloid, f (x, y) = 2x

2
+ y
2
. The gradient at z
x = (5, 3) is

∇f (x, y) = (4x, 2y) = (20, 6)

Therefore, at x = (5, 3), f is increasing at the rate of 20 along the x axis,

and at the rate of 6 along the y axis. 20i + 6j also corresponds to the
direction in the x, y plane along which f will increase the most quickly.
y

Gradients of vectors can also be computed. The result will be a 2nd order tensor. For example, the gradient of a velocity field
is written as ∇v. Writing this in tensor notation vi,j shows more clearly that the result is a 2nd order tensor because of the
presence of the i and j subscripts. Gradients arise in mechanical deformation and heat conduction applications. Mechanical
strains are related to gradients of displacements and heat conduction is related to the gradient of the temperature
distribution.

Divergence
The divergence of a vector is a scalar result, and the divergence of a 2nd order tensor is a vector. The divergence of a vector
is written as ∇ ⋅ v , or vi,i in tensor notation. It is computed as

∂ ∂ ∂
∇ ⋅ v = ( i + j + k) ⋅ (vx i + vy j + vz k)
∂x ∂y ∂z

∂ vx ∂ vy ∂ vz
= + +
∂x ∂y ∂z

Tensor Notation
As stated above, the divergence is written in tensor notation as vi,i . It is very important that both subscripts are the same
because this dictates that they are automatically summed from 1 to 3. They can in fact be any letter one desires, so long as
they are both the same letter.

Divergence Example

If v = (3x
2
− 2y, z
2
+ x, y
3
− z) , then the dot product is

Loading [MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 3/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus
∂ ∂ ∂
2 2 3
∇ ⋅ v = (3x − 2y) + (z + x) + (y − z) = 6x − 1
∂x ∂y ∂z

The divergence of velocity vectors often arises in the discussion of incompressibility and conservation of mass.

Curl
The curl of a vector is the cross product of partial derivatives with the vector. Curls arise when rotations are important, just as
cross products of vectors tend to do. Rotations of solids automatically imply large displacements, which in turn automatically
imply nonlinear analyses. And this is why one seldom comes across curls... because most analyses are linear.

Curls are calculated as follows.

∂ ∂ ∂
∇ × v = ( i + j + k) × (vx i + vy j + vz k)
∂x ∂y ∂z

∣ i j k ∣
∣ ∣
∂ ∂ ∂
= ∣ ∣
∂x ∂y ∂z
∣ ∣
∣ vx vy vz ∣

∂ vz ∂ vy ∂ vx ∂ vz ∂ vy ∂ vx
= ( − )i + ( − )j + ( − )k
∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x ∂x ∂y

! Tensor Notation of Curls

The curl of a vector is written in tensor notation as ϵijk vk,j . It is critical to recognize that the vector is written as
vk,j here, not vj,k . This is because the curl is ∇ × v , not v × ∇ .

An easy way to get the tensor notation right is to think of ∇ × v as ϵijk ∇j vk and note the order of the subscripts.
Of course, this reduces to the correct result: ϵijk vk,j .

As with cross products, the fact that j and k both occur twice in ϵijk vk,j dictates that both are automatically summed from 1
to 3. The term expands to

ϵijk vk,j = ϵi11 v1,1 + ϵi12 v2,1 + ϵi13 v3,1 +

ϵi21 v1,2 + ϵi22 v2,2 + ϵi23 v3,2 +

ϵi31 v1,3 + ϵi32 v2,3 + ϵi33 v3,3

Curls Using Tensor Notation

To obtain the yth component of a curl, set i equal to 2 in the above equation.

ϵ2jk vk,j = ϵ211 v1,1 + ϵ212 v2,1 + ϵ213 v3,1 +

ϵ221 v1,2 + ϵ222 v2,2 + ϵ223 v3,2 +

ϵ231 v1,3 + ϵ232 v2,3 + ϵ233 v3,3

All subscripts are now specified, and this permits evaluation of all alternating tensors. All of them will equal zero
except
Loading two, leaving
[MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 4/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus
∂ vx ∂ vz
ϵ2jk vk,j = v1,3 − v3,1 = −
∂z ∂x

which is again consistent with the determinant result (as it must be). Results for the xth and zth components are
obtained by setting i equal to 1 and 3, respectively.

Curl Example - Rotating Disk

Consider a disk rotating about the z axis such that z

x = X cos(ω t) − Y sin(ω t)
w
y = X sin(ω t) + Y cos(ω t) y
z = Z

x
where X is the vector of original coordinates of each point at t = 0 , and x is
the vector of that point's coordinates at any other time, t .

Note that this is common in Continuum Mechanics to use X as the position vector at t = 0, the so-called
reference configuration, and x for the position vector following any translations, rotations, and deformations, the
so-called current configuration.

The velocity vector is

− ωX sin(ω t) − ωY cos(ω t)
⎛ ⎞
∂x
v = = ⎜ + ωX cos(ω t) − ωY sin(ω t) ⎟
∂t
⎝ ⎠
0

which simplifies to

v = (−ω y, ω x, 0)

making the curl of the velocity vector relatively simple to compute.

∇ × v = (0, 0, 2ω)

As stated above, the curl is related to rotations. It turns out that ∇ × v gives the axis of rotation, and 1

2
|∇ × v| is
the rotational rate. So 1

2
(∇ × v) gives

1
(∇ × v) = (0, 0, ω)
2

Laplacian
The Laplacian is the divergence of the gradient of a function. It often arises in 2nd order partial differential equations and is
usually written as ∇2f (x). It can also be written in the less popular, but more descriptive form of ∇ ⋅ ∇f (x) . Its definition is

2 2 2
∂ f (x) ∂ f (x) ∂ f (x)
2
∇ f (x) ≡ + +
Loading [MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js ∂ x
2
∂ y
2
∂ z
2

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 5/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus

Tensor Notation

The Laplacian is written in tensor notation simply as f ,ii where the two i indices means that they are automatically summed
from 1 to 3.

Laplacian Example

Determine the Laplacian of f (x) 3

= 2x y − z sin(y) .

Start by calculating the gradient of f (x) .

2 3
∇f (x) = (6x y, 2x − z cos(y), − sin(y))

And the divergence of the gradient (which is the Laplacian after all) is

2
∇ f (x) = ∇ ⋅ ∇f (x) = 12xy + z sin(y)

Derivatives of Vector Products

Differentiation of vector products (dot, cross, and diadic) follow the same rules as differentiation of scalar products. For
example, the derivative of a dot product is

d da db
(a ⋅ b) = ⋅ b + a ⋅
dt dt dt

while the derivative of a cross product is

d da db
(a × b) = × b + a ×
dt dt dt

and the derivative of a diadic product is

d da db
(a ⊗ b) = ⊗ b + a ⊗
dt dt dt

Dot Product Derivative Example

Suppose a t
= (5t, sin t, e ) and b 2
= (t , sin t, 6t) , then

3 2 t
a ⋅ b = 5t + sin t + 6te

and the derivative is

d
2 t
(a ⋅ b) = 15t + 2 sin t cos t + 6(t + 1)e
dt

Applying
Loading the differentiation product
[MathJax]/extensions/MathZoom.js rule gives the same result.

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 6/7
1/21/2019 Vector Calculus
da db
t 2 t
⋅ b + a ⋅ = (5, cos t, e ) ⋅ (t , sin t, 6t) + (5t, sin t, e ) ⋅ (2t, cos t, 6)
dt dt

2 t
= 15t + 2 sin t cos t + 6(t + 1)e

http://www.continuummechanics.org/vectorcalculus.html 7/7