What is Calculation: Definition and 1000 Discussions

A calculation is a deliberate process that transforms one or more inputs into one or more results. The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite arithmetical calculation of using an algorithm, to the vague heuristics of calculating a strategy in a competition, or calculating the chance of a successful relationship between two people.
For example, multiplying 7 by 6 is a simple algorithmic calculation. Estimating the fair price for financial instruments using the Black–Scholes model is a more complex algorithmic calculation.
Statistical estimations of the likely election results from opinion polls also involve algorithmic calculations, but produces ranges of possibilities rather than exact answers.
To calculate means to determine mathematically in the case of a number or amount, or in the case of an abstract problem to deduce the answer using logic, reason or common sense. The English word derives from the Latin calculus, which originally meant a small stone in the gall-bladder (from Latin calx). It also meant a pebble used for calculating, or a small stone used as a counter in an abacus (Latin abacus, Greek abax). The abacus was an instrument used by Greeks and Romans for arithmetic calculations, preceding the slide-rule and the electronic calculator, and consisted of perforated pebbles sliding on iron bars.

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  1. S

    A Calculation of S-matrix elements in quantum field theory

    Consider the following extract taken from page 60 of Matthew Schwartz's 'Introduction to Quantum Field Theory':We usually calculate ##S##-matrix elements perturbatively. In a free theory, where there are no interactions, the ##S##-matrix is simply the identity matrix ##\mathbb{1}##. We can...
  2. H

    Check logic for Watts calculation

    Thanks to anyone kind enough to help check my logic. Using 13 gauge copper wire and a magnet I can generate .05 watt every time the magnet passes the coil (according to the voltmeter). Am I correct in assuming that if the magnet passes the coil 60 times a minute, then (.05 watts X 60rpm X 60...
  3. R

    A Transformer lamination thickness calculation

    I am trying to figure out the lamination thickness of a transformer to reduce eddy current loss at 10 MHz. I am new to the subject, any help will be appreciated. Also how do I calculate the size of a core to avoid saturation knowing the peak current applied to a 1:1 transformer. Thanks in...
  4. L

    A Compare absorption spectra from calculation and experiment

    hi pf nice to see you. I have a question about optical absorption spectrum of nanoscale substrates. To get an absorption spectrum of nanostrucutred material, I want to perform both fdtd calculation and optical simulation. When I do fdtd calculation, I set the incident light illuminated with...
  5. UMath1

    Solenoid Magnetic Field calculation

    I am confused about how the magnetic field of a solenoid is calculated in this image. Why is only the current going into the page included in calculating the magnetic field? Shouldn't the field be twice the amount calculated because there is a magnetic field generated by the part of the turns...
  6. L

    Entropy Calc: Solving for 100 Mol Gas

    Homework Statement Two isolated containers, of volumes V1 and V2, enclose ideal single atom gas at the same pressure p. The number of particles in each container is equal, the temperature of gas in container one is T1=293K and the temperature of gas in container two is T2=308K. An equilibrium...
  7. E

    I Calculation of mean energy value of photons in recombination

    I am interested in the calculation of the mean energy value of CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) photons from which the recombination is performed. The subject on French Wikipedia says : "Intuitively, one might say that recombination occurs when energy average of photons is of the order of the...
  8. L

    Implementing wind into projectile calculation.

    Homework Statement Calculate distance of a rock thrown at certain angle, velocity and wind speed/direction. Homework Equations I'm using this: 2(vi^2)sin(theta)cos(theta)/9.8 to calculate the distance of the throw. How could I implement a wind value and direction into this equation? This is...
  9. Dr. Octavious

    I Vacuum chamber pressure calculation in TOKAMAKS

    Hello all! I understand the concept of the TOKAMAK vacuum chamber, but can someone explain to me how I can actually calculate the pressure in which I need the chamber to be evacuated? I know it should be in the range of approximately 10^-7 or so but more specifically, is there an equation to...
  10. lep11

    Limit Calculation with L'Hospital's Rule: arctanx/arcsinx rigorously at x=0

    Homework Statement Calculate ##\lim_{x \rightarrow 0} \frac{arctanx}{arcsinx}## 'rigoriously'. The Attempt at a Solution What's the best approach? L'Hospitals rule? ##\lim_{x \rightarrow 0} \frac{arctanx}{arcsinx}=\lim_{x \rightarrow 0} \frac{\sqrt{1-x^2}}{x^2+1} =1##
  11. F

    Internal combustion engine calculation questions

    < Mentor Note -- Poster has been reminded to use the Homework Help Template and show their work on schoolwork problems > Hello everyone I have some questions on engine calculations that I need help in please. 1) A reciprocating internal combustion engine operates on a 4 stroke cycle. If the...
  12. N

    A Box diagram calculation (Kaon mixing)

    I am trying to calculate box diagram of Kaon mixing by follow the "CP Violation" book. Now, I arrived at equation (B.8) and I have problem with getting equation (B.12). F(x_\alpha,x_\beta)=\dfrac{1}{(1-x_\alpha)(1-x_\beta)}(\dfrac{7x_\alpha...
  13. Z

    Air Hockey Calculation for Air Blowing System

    Hello, Right now I'm doing a Final Year Project 1 which is Air Hockey. The different between our air hockey and normal air hockey are our air hockey is octagonal shape. but now I'm stuck at calculating the air pressure for the table. can you help us? again this is just a school project not...
  14. X

    Electronically commutated motor calculation

    hi everyone, I am an engineer in Singapore. I have come to a question that required the formula of calculating the energy consumption of ECM. Can my engineer bodies please give me a hand?
  15. A

    MHB Brute force calculation of P(200)

    In the film "The Man Who Knew Infinity" about S. Ramanujan, Major MacMahon calculated the number of partitions of 200, so that the accuracy of Ramanujan & Hardy's estimate could be established. How would MacMahon have calculated this? I looked into how this number would be calculated by brute...
  16. M

    Calculation of Permanent set out of stress strain relation

    Hi, I have been given a relation between stress and strain which is strain=(stress/70000)(1+(3stress/(1890)) the dia of round bar is 10mm and length is 3mm and that's all the data i have and I am required to find out permanent set.
  17. J

    Average Speed Calculation: Why 2x266.67 Doesn't Work

    1. Homework Statement Ok so for part ii) b) I calculated the average speed as follow, Average speed= 3792.6/ (2x266.67), where 3792.6m is the total distance, and 266.67s is the time when v=0 , i.e. the time from O to the turning point But it should be 3792.6/ 400, where 400s is the time...
  18. I

    Calculation of peak acoustic intensity (in water)

    If we know the max. pressure (p) is 2.5 MPa and T = 20 C. Peak intensity, I = p^2 / rho * c where rho = density of water: 0.9982E03 kg/m^3 and c = speed of sound in water: 1482.3 m/s at 20 C I = (2.5E06 [Pa])^2 / 1.4796E06 [kg/m^2/s] = 4.2241E06 W/m^2 Is this correct?
  19. Le_Anthony

    Instantaneous Power calculation

    Homework Statement The energy of a system increases at a rate of 3.5t + 6.2t^2, in joules. What is the instantaneous power at t=3.1 s? Homework Equations P=dW/dt J/s=watt The Attempt at a Solution dW=3.5 + 12.4t P=(3.5 + 12.4t joule) / (3.1s)=1.12 + 4t, in watts Yes/ no?
  20. ChrisVer

    Python Entropy calculation atoms simulation

    I have the following program that simulates a stochastic system of 400 particles. What I want to do now is separate the 200x200 grid into 2x2 smaller grids, out of which I will calculate each probability: P_i= \frac{\sum_{\text{atoms}}}{4} and from which in each step I'll be able to determine...
  21. K

    I Simple Fulcrum Force Calculation Question

    Hello all, I have a (at what first seemed) fairly simple question about calculating the forces on this fulcrum design I have. Here is an image of the sketch and free body diagram that I drew: Basically, the pivot point in my real life application is actually a cam, but for the sake of this...
  22. K

    [Cam Design] Calculation of torque required by cam shaft

    Hello all, I am trying to figure out how to calculate the torque on a cam shaft. Say we are looking at this cam and cam follower: If we know that the total force downward caused by the cam follower is, let's say, 50lb, how do I determine the torque required of the cam shaft to rotate the...
  23. George_J

    Torque & Inertia calculation for a wheel

    Hello! Before I start I want to apologize for my english and not having a scanner (lol). I'm calculating the torque needed to rotate a wheel* around its own axis from above, ( see the link at the end of post). I have quite an good idea to how I'm supposed to calculate it but I feel that...
  24. Y

    I Calculation of the absorption coefficient for GaAs

    Anyone can explain me this example? I substitute value for e = 1.602*10-19; m0 = 9.1*10-31; pi = 3.14; and calculated value for μav in matlab. I received 1.7104*10-19. But in exam this value is 0.68*10-25. What is i wrong? please help me. Thank you.
  25. J

    I Time Dilation in Hypothetical Faster-than-Light Travel

    This sounds like a homework question, but I promise you it's not (I'm not even a student). To be honest, the question is simply for my own personal curiosity, to test a theory about a video game. My question is this: If an astronaut traveled for 15 years (their time) at twice the speed of...
  26. evinda

    MHB Formulating Fubini's Theorem for Lebesgue Integrable Functions

    Hello! I want to use Fubini's theorem for $L^1(\mathbb{R}^n \times \mathbb{R}^m)$ functions in order to find the integral $\int_0^{+\infty} \frac{\sin x}{x} \left( \frac{1-e^{-x}}{x}-e^{-x} \right) dx$. There is a hint that we should find $\int_{(0,+\infty) \times (0,1)} y \sin x e^{-xy} dx...
  27. A

    Calculation of permissible error in physical quantity

    Homework Statement I have doubt in calculating the permissible error. It goes as follows Measure of two quantities along with the precision of respective measuring instrument is A = 25.0 ± 0.5 m/s, B = 0.10 ± 0.01 s. A physical quantity C is calculated as C = A × B. What will be the value of...
  28. S

    Calculation of torque of engine (mathematically)

    We have tried to convert a petrol engine into a compressed air engine back in our graduation project. At that time we only measured the RPM of engine using tachometer and pressure of compressed air using pressure gauge. Now, we need to know the power of wngine at those readings. As the setup is...
  29. A

    Calculation of permissible error in physical quantity

    Homework Statement I have doubt in calculating the permissible error. It goes as follows Measure of two quantities along with the precision of respective measuring instrument is A = 25.0 ± 0.5 m/s, B = 0.10 ± 0.01 s. A physical quantity C is calculated as C = A × B. What will be the value of C...
  30. P

    I Not understanding Hulse Taylor period shift calculation

    I have been studying Hulse Taylor PSR 1913+16 calculation of period shift which is regarded as indirect proof for gravitational waves, but I don't understand one thing. If you look on the graph of Cumulative period shift, around every 10 years the shift doubles...
  31. R

    Convolution Calculation (piecewise function)

    Homework Statement Compute the convolution ##(f*h)(t)## where $$f(t) = \left\{\begin{matrix}1, \ \ for \ \ |t|<1 \\ 0, \ \ \ \ otherwise \end{matrix}\right.$$ and $$h(t) = \left\{\begin{matrix}2|t|-1, \ \ for \ \ |t|<1/2 \\ 0, \ \ \ \ otherwise \end{matrix}\right.$$ Homework Equations...
  32. A

    Calculation of Kinetic Energy in Rotation Motion

    Homework Statement Respected Physics Gurus/experts...! I am confused in the application of Kinetic energy Expression, i.e, KE = (1/2)MVCM2+(1/2)ICMω2 I had been trying out this question actually(it's pretty simple though:-p)...--- "A rigid body is made of three identical thin rods each of...
  33. CynicusRex

    I Monty Hall - Multiple solutions via direct calculation?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Hall_problem#Direct_calculation I understand the problem and why it is better to always switch. Now, I want to prove it by myself via a direct calculation. Before I start I wonder if the direct calculation on Wikipedia is the only solution or are there...
  34. M

    Diesel injector sac pressure calculation

    I am trying to calculate the nozzle sac pressure required to deliver 60mm3/ms of diesel fuel into a pressurised cylinder (19MPa). The nozzle has 5 delivery holes of diameter 0.157mm and the discharge co-efficient is 0.87. The sac diameter= 0.7 mm and the sac volume= 0.12mm3. I have tried to use...
  35. FL0R1

    A Integral calculation (Most Difficult Integral)

    Can anybody give me a solution for the integral of [(lnx)/(cosx)]dx?? I would be very gratefully even they do go in a way
  36. polygamma

    MHB Residue Calc: $\cot^n(z)$ at $z=0$

    Show that the residue of $\cot^{n}(z)$ at $z=0$ is $\sin \left( \frac{n \pi}{2}\right)$, $n \in \mathbb{N}$.
  37. C

    Troubleshooting Clutch Torque Calculation Errors: A Guide for Scientists

    Hi, first time poster. I'm trying to calculate the clutch torque output using the following formula: torque = force (450KG ((pressure plate calculated force) x gyration radius ( 0.09 Metres (( square root of inner radius squared x outer radius squared divided by 2) x coefficient of friction (...
  38. x2017

    Projectile Motion calculation problem

    Homework Statement Homework Equations D=VΔt Vf=Vi+ayΔt Df=Di+VyΔt+(1/2)ayΔt2 The Attempt at a Solution I solved for d using 1/2ayΔt2 and got 10.30m (Solving for d is a question later on in this assignment and i checked it there and it is incorrect...) Then I used Df=Di+VyΔt+(1/2)ayΔt2 but...
  39. A

    Monte Carlo error calculation PYTHON

    I am using the monte carlo method to calculate the integral of cos^2(x). This is done using N random numbers. In my case I am doing it for 10^i random numbers when i ranges from 1-6. I want to calculate the error on the integral for each value of i used. I know for each value of N I want to...
  40. Bhavik Panchal

    Power calculation for Ribbon blender for dry cement mixing?

    density -1600 kg/m3 dia -1m lenght -2m material to mix - Dry cement mixing abt 2 tones please suggest me the power in hp...
  41. W

    Berry's Curvature Equation cross product calculation

    Hi, The following textbook Heisenberg's Quantum Mechanics shows an example of calculating Berry's curvature (top page on pg 518). It led to a following equation Vm= (- 1/B2 ) * i *∑ ( <m,B|S|n,B> ∧ <n,B|S|m,B> ) / A2 ...[1] the textbook claims that we add the term m = n since <m|S|m> ∧ <m|S|m>...
  42. Umrao

    Calculation of force due to electric dipole

    Homework Statement Two identical co-axial rings ,(radius R each) are kept separated by a small distance d, one of them carrying a charge +Q and the other a charge -Q. The charges are uniformly distributed over the respective rings. A point charge q is kept on the common axis of the rings, at a...
  43. 9

    Friction Calculation: Formula for Determining Wheel-Surface Friction

    How can we calculate the friction between the wheels and the surface in contact? I know that big wheels will have a greater friction, but what is the formula to calculate it?
  44. M

    Calculation on a water cooled compressor

    How can i calculate the water temperatur in step 3? Do i need more information? We can assume the water temperatur in step 2 is anything between 288 and 313K. If anyone knows how to calculate step 4, ill take that as well.
  45. verschrankung

    Schwarzschild radius calculation

    Is this the proper formula for calculating the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole? rs = 2GM / c2 If it is not, or if anyone has one that might work better, could you refer it to me?
  46. Telemachus

    How is the cohesive energy in a molecular solid calculated?

    When the calculation for the cohesive energy in a molecular solid is carried on, there appears a summation for the interaction of all the molecules or atoms in the solid, (see for example Kittel Introduction to solid state Physics 3rd edition, page 87). For noble gases, this interaction could be...
  47. MathematicalPhysicist

    Adding restrictive conditions to a limit calculation

    I have the following limit to calculate under the assumption that ##\Re(x+y)>1##: Limit[Integrate[ 1/((1 + t^2)^n*(1 + I*t)^x (1 - I*t)^y), {t, -Infinity, Infinity}], n -> Infinity] I want to add the above assumption for integral, how to do it? does it even converge? Thanks.
  48. M

    MHB Calculation of a surface integral

    Hey! :o I want to calculate the surface integral of $$F(x,y,z)=(0,0,z)$$ on the unit sphere with parametrization $$x=\sin u \cos v, \ y=\sin u \sin v , \ z=\cos u \\ 0\leq u\leq \pi, \ 0\leq v\leq 2\pi$$ with positive direction the direction of $T_u\times T_v$. Could you give some hints how...
  49. J

    Horizontal open channel flow -- Hydraulic jump calculation

    Dear Fellow Engineers I'm having an issues with my calculations. This case concerns a open channel flow that start off being supercritical on the left and turns into subcritical flow after a hydraulic jump. Given: Volume flow rate Q = 0.16m^3/s Width of the channel b = 1m Resulting...
  50. resurgance2001

    Nuclear decay of a small number of atoms calculation

    I came across a rather dubious question that a teacher had put in a power point. It said something like,"Given a sample of 100 atoms of isotope x, after one half life of the said isotope, how many atoms of the original isotope will be left?" My answer was that it was a trick question because...
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