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minik
Nov29-11, 12:44 PM
Hi,
I am trying to solve a second order nonlinear eqn which is

y''+3y'=1/(y^5), y'(0)=0, using mathematica.
When I type
DSolve[y''[x]+3*y'[x]=(1/(y[x])^5) ,y'[0]==0,y[x],x]; I get "second-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation" as a result.
I don't understand what mistake I am making. I am not so much familiar to mathematica.

Could You help me to solve this eqn.
Thanks,

hunt_mat
Nov29-11, 05:12 PM
Are you sure that this equation has an analytical solution? Try NDSolve instead.

eztum
Nov30-11, 05:39 AM
The output you got from Mathematica means:
'Sorry, I did not find a symbolic solution for the problem'.
As the previous answer suggests, you should probably use
NDSove to find a numerical solution (for which graphical
representations can easily be created by Mathematica).
For this to work, you have to completely specify
initial conditions (i.e. you have not only to specify
an initial condition for y' but also one for y).