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Applications of Matrix Mathematics

Matrix mathematics applies across many fields including computer graphics, science, and mathematics. In computer graphics, matrix mathematics is used to render reflected and distorted images by representing linear transformations as matrices. In science, matrices were used in optics to model reflection and refraction before computer graphics. Matrix arithmetic also helps model electrical circuits, probabilities, and simplifies linear algebra by providing a more compact way to represent groups of equations.

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168 views3 pages

Applications of Matrix Mathematics

Matrix mathematics applies across many fields including computer graphics, science, and mathematics. In computer graphics, matrix mathematics is used to render reflected and distorted images by representing linear transformations as matrices. In science, matrices were used in optics to model reflection and refraction before computer graphics. Matrix arithmetic also helps model electrical circuits, probabilities, and simplifies linear algebra by providing a more compact way to represent groups of equations.

Uploaded by

elle
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Applications of Matrix Mathematics

Matrix mathematics applies to several branches of science, as well as different


mathematical disciplines. Let’s start with computer graphics, then touch on science, and
return to mathematics.

We see the results of matrix mathematics in every computer-generated image that has
a reflection, or distortion effects such as light passing through rippling water.

Before computer graphics, the science of optics used matrix mathematics to account for
reflection and for refraction.

Matrix arithmetic helps us calculate the electrical properties of a circuit, with voltage,


amperage, resistance, etc.

In mathematics, one application of matrix notation supports graph theory. In an


adjacency matrix, the integer values of each element indicates how many connections a
particular node has.

The field of probability and statistics may use matrix representations. A probability
vector lists the probabilities of different outcomes of one trial. A stochastic matrix is a
square matrix whose rows are probability vectors. Computers run Markov simulations
based on stochastic matrices in order to model events ranging from gambling through
weather forecasting to quantum mechanics.

Matrix mathematics simplifies linear algebra, at least in providing a more compact way
to deal with groups of equations in linear algebra.

Introduction to Matrix Arithmetic


A matrix organizes a group of numbers, or variables, with specific rules of arithmetic. It

is represented as a rectangular group of rows and columns, such as  . This


“2X3” matrix has two rows and three columns; the number ’23’ is in the second row of
the third column.

An example of a square matrix with variables, rather than numbers, is  . This is a
square matrix because the number of rows equals the number of columns.

We can only add matrices of the same dimensions, because we add the corresponding
elements. .
Matrix multiplication is another matter entirely. Let’s multiply matrices MP=R. M is an
mXn matrix; P is nXp; and the result R will have dimension mXp. Note that the number
of columns of the left-hand matrix, M, must equal the number of rows of the right hand
matrix, P. For example:

A matrix can also multiply, or be multiplied by, a vector.

Surprisingly, we all use matrix in our daily lives. Image by Kkmann.

Graphic Uses of Matrix Mathematics


Graphic software uses matrix mathematics to process linear transformations to render
images. A square matrix, one with exactly as many rows as columns, can represent a
linear transformation of a geometric object. For example, in the Cartesian X-Y plane, the

matrix   reflects an object in the vertical Y axis. In a video game, this would render
the upside-down mirror image of a castle reflected in a lake.

If the video game has curved reflecting surfaces, such as a shiny silver goblet, the linear
transformation matrix would be more complicated, to stretch or shrink the reflection.

The Identity Matrix and the Inverse Matrix


The Identity matrix is an nXn square matrix with ones on the diagonal and zeroes
elsewhere. It causes absolutely no change as a linear transformation; much like
multiplying an ordinary number by one. The dimension of an Identity matrix is shown by

a subscript, so I2 =   is the 2X2 Identity matrix.

Suppose we have two square nXn matrices, A and B, such that AB=I n. Then we call B
the inverse matrix of A, and show it as A-1. The first practical point is that the inverse
matrix A-1 reverses the changes made by the original linear transformation matrix A.
The Determinant
Another important task in matrix arithmetic is to calculate the determinant of a 2X2

square matrix. For matrix M=  , the determinant is |M| = a*d – b*c.

If the determinant of M is zero, then no inverse matrix M-1 exists.

On the other hand, if we apply M as the linear transformation of a unit square U into U M,
then the determinant |M| is the area of that transformed square. In a sense, the
determinant is the size, or “norm”, of a square matrix.

Daily Matrix Applications


Matrix mathematics has many applications. Mathematicians, scientists and engineers
represent groups of equations as matrices; then they have a systematic way of doing
the math. Computers have embedded matrix arithmetic in graphic processing
algorithms, especially to render reflection and refraction. Some properties of matrix
mathematics are important in math theory.

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