partial differential equation

partial differential equation

In mathematics, an equation that contains partial derivatives, expressing a process of change that depends on more than one independent variable. It can be read as a statement about how a process evolves without specifying the formula defining the process. Given the initial state of the process (such as its size at time zero) and a description of how it is changing (i.e., the partial differential equation), its defining formula can be found by various methods, most based on integration. Important partial differential equations include the heat equation, the wave equation, and Laplace's equation, which are central to mathematical physics.

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partial differential equation [′pär·shəl ‚dif·ə′ren·chəl i‚kwā·zhən]

(mathematics)

An equation that involves more than one independent variable and partial derivatives with respect to those variables.