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Linear Algebra: Vectors and Vector Spaces

Linear algebra deals with vectors, matrices, and vector spaces. It studies how vectors can be added and scaled, and how linear transformations map one vector to another. Vectors represent quantities with magnitude and direction. Vector spaces allow vectors to be added and scaled. Linear transformations preserve vector addition and scaling, and are represented by matrices. Eigenvectors are vectors whose direction remains the same under a linear transformation. Linear algebra has many applications in fields like physics, modern algebra, and coding theory.

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Rohit Sahu
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177 views4 pages

Linear Algebra: Vectors and Vector Spaces

Linear algebra deals with vectors, matrices, and vector spaces. It studies how vectors can be added and scaled, and how linear transformations map one vector to another. Vectors represent quantities with magnitude and direction. Vector spaces allow vectors to be added and scaled. Linear transformations preserve vector addition and scaling, and are represented by matrices. Eigenvectors are vectors whose direction remains the same under a linear transformation. Linear algebra has many applications in fields like physics, modern algebra, and coding theory.

Uploaded by

Rohit Sahu
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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9/15/2021 Linear algebra -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Linear algebra
 Full Article
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Linear algebra, mathematical discipline that
Introduction
deals with vectors and matrices and, more
Vectors and vector spaces
generally, with vector spaces and linear
Linear transformations and matrices
transformations. Unlike other parts of
Eigenvectors
mathematics that are frequently invigorated by
new ideas and unsolved problems, linear algebra
is very well understood. Its value lies in its many applications, from mathematical physics to
modern algebra and coding theory.

Vectors and vector spaces

Linear algebra usually starts with the study of vectors, which are understood as quantities
having both magnitude and direction. Vectors lend themselves readily to physical applications.
For example, consider a solid object that is free to move in any direction. When two forces act
at the same time on this object, they produce a combined effect that is the same as a single
force. To picture this, represent the two forces v and w as arrows; the direction of each arrow
gives the direction of the force, and its length gives the magnitude of the force. The single
force that results from combining v and w is called their sum, written v + w. In the figure, v +
w corresponds to the diagonal of the parallelogram formed from adjacent sides represented by
v and w.

Vectors are often expressed using coordinates. For


example, in two dimensions a vector can be defined by a
pair of coordinates (a , a ) describing an arrow going
1 2
from the origin (0, 0) to the point (a , a ). If one vector
1 2
is (a , a ) and another is (b , b ), then their sum is (a +
 1 2 1 2 1
vector parallelogram for addition
b , a + b ); this gives the same result as the
and subtraction 1 2 2
parallelogram (see the figure). In three dimensions a
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One method of adding and subtracting


vector is expressed using three coordinates (a , a , a ),
vectors is to place their tails together 1 2 3
and then supply two more sides to and this idea extends to any number of dimensions.
form a parallelogram. The vector from
their tails to the opposite corner of the
parallelogram is equal to the sum of
Representing vectors as arrows in two or three
the original vectors. The vector dimensions is a starting point, but linear algebra has been
between their heads (starting from the
vector being subtracted) is equal to applied in contexts where this is no longer appropriate.
their difference.
For example, in some types of differential equations the
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
sum of two solutions gives a third solution, and any
constant multiple of a solution is also a solution. In such
cases the solutions can be treated as vectors, and the set
of solutions is a vector space in the following sense. In a
vector space any two vectors can be added together to

 give another vector, and vectors can be multiplied by


Coordinate vector additionVectors can
numbers to give “shorter” or “longer” vectors. The
be added together by first placing their
tails at the origin of a coordinate numbers are called scalars because in early examples
system such that their lengths and
directions are unchanged. Then the
they were ordinary numbers that altered the scale, or
coordinates of their heads are added length, of a vector. For example, if v is a vector and 2 is
pairwise; e.g., in two dimensions, their
x-coordinates and their y-coordinates a scalar, then 2v is a vector in the same direction as v but
are added separately to obtain the twice as long. In many modern applications of linear
resulting vector sum. As shown by the
dotted lines, this vector sum coincides algebra, scalars are no longer ordinary real numbers, but
with one diagonal of the parallelogram
the important thing is that they can be combined among
formed with the original vectors.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. themselves by addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division. For example, the scalars may be complex
numbers, or they may be elements of a finite field such as the field having only the two
elements 0 and 1, where 1 + 1 = 0. The coordinates of a vector are scalars, and when these
scalars are from the field of two elements, each coordinate is 0 or 1, so each vector can be
viewed as a particular sequence of 0s and 1s. This is very useful in digital processing, where
such sequences are used to encode and transmit data.

Linear transformations and matrices

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Vector spaces are one of the two main ingredients of linear algebra, the other being linear
transformations (or “operators” in the parlance of physicists). Linear transformations are
functions that send, or “map,” one vector to another vector. The simplest example of a linear
transformation sends each vector to c times itself, where c is some constant. Thus, every
vector remains in the same direction, but all lengths are multiplied by c. Another example is a
rotation, which leaves all lengths the same but alters the directions of the vectors. Linear refers
to the fact that the transformation preserves vector addition and scalar multiplication. This
means that if T is a linear transformation sending a vector v to T(v), then for any vectors v and
w, and any scalar c, the transformation must satisfy the properties T(v + w) = T(v) + T(w) and
T(cv) = cT(v).

When doing computations, linear transformations are treated as matrices. A matrix is a


rectangular arrangement of scalars, and two matrices can be added or multiplied as shown in

the table. The

product of two matrices shows the result of doing one transformation followed by another
(from right to left), and if the transformations are done in reverse order the result is usually
different. Thus, the product of two matrices depends on the order of multiplication; if S and T
are square matrices (matrices with the same number of rows as columns) of the same size,
then ST and TS are rarely equal. The matrix for a given transformation is found using
coordinates. For example, in two dimensions a linear transformation T can be completely
determined simply by knowing its effect on any two vectors v and w that have different
directions. Their transformations T(v) and T(w) are given by two coordinates; therefore, only
four coordinates, two for T(v) and two for T(w), are needed to specify T. These four
coordinates are arranged in a 2-by-2 matrix. In three dimensions three vectors u, v, and w are

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9/15/2021 Linear algebra -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

needed, and to specify T(u), T(v), and T(w) one needs three coordinates for each. This results
in a 3-by-3 matrix.

Eigenvectors

When studying linear transformations, it is extremely useful to find nonzero vectors whose
direction is left unchanged by the transformation. These are called eigenvectors (also known
as characteristic vectors). If v is an eigenvector for the linear transformation T, then T(v) = λv
for some scalar λ. This scalar is called an eigenvalue. The eigenvalue of greatest absolute
value, along with its associated eigenvector, have special significance for many physical
applications. This is because whatever process is represented by the linear transformation
often acts repeatedly—feeding output from the last transformation back into another
transformation—which results in every arbitrary (nonzero) vector converging on the
eigenvector associated with the largest eigenvalue, though rescaled by a power of the
eigenvalue. In other words, the long-term behaviour of the system is determined by its
eigenvectors.

Finding the eigenvectors and eigenvalues for a linear transformation is often done using
matrix algebra, first developed in the mid-19th century by the English mathematician Arthur
Cayley. His work formed the foundation for modern linear algebra.

Mark Andrew Ronan

Citation Information
Article Title: Linear algebra
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 09 June 2017
URL: https://www.britannica.com/science/linear-algebra
Access Date: September 15, 2021

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