What is Nonlinear differential: Definition and 69 Discussions

In mathematics and science, a nonlinear system is a system in which the change of the output is not proportional to the change of the input. Nonlinear problems are of interest to engineers, biologists, physicists, mathematicians, and many other scientists because most systems are inherently nonlinear in nature. Nonlinear dynamical systems, describing changes in variables over time, may appear chaotic, unpredictable, or counterintuitive, contrasting with much simpler linear systems.
Typically, the behavior of a nonlinear system is described in mathematics by a nonlinear system of equations, which is a set of simultaneous equations in which the unknowns (or the unknown functions in the case of differential equations) appear as variables of a polynomial of degree higher than one or in the argument of a function which is not a polynomial of degree one.
In other words, in a nonlinear system of equations, the equation(s) to be solved cannot be written as a linear combination of the unknown variables or functions that appear in them. Systems can be defined as nonlinear, regardless of whether known linear functions appear in the equations. In particular, a differential equation is linear if it is linear in terms of the unknown function and its derivatives, even if nonlinear in terms of the other variables appearing in it.
As nonlinear dynamical equations are difficult to solve, nonlinear systems are commonly approximated by linear equations (linearization). This works well up to some accuracy and some range for the input values, but some interesting phenomena such as solitons, chaos, and singularities are hidden by linearization. It follows that some aspects of the dynamic behavior of a nonlinear system can appear to be counterintuitive, unpredictable or even chaotic. Although such chaotic behavior may resemble random behavior, it is in fact not random. For example, some aspects of the weather are seen to be chaotic, where simple changes in one part of the system produce complex effects throughout. This nonlinearity is one of the reasons why accurate long-term forecasts are impossible with current technology.
Some authors use the term nonlinear science for the study of nonlinear systems. This term is disputed by others:

Using a term like nonlinear science is like referring to the bulk of zoology as the study of non-elephant animals.

View More On Wikipedia.org
  1. F

    Nonlinear differential equation issue

    Homework Statement This is just a nonlinear differential equation. All I have to do it solve it, though it is an initial value problem as well. 2*y*y' + y^{2} = t Initial value: y(0) = -1. The Attempt at a Solution This should be easy, but it doesn't seem easily...
  2. H

    First order nonlinear differential equation

    Hi, I've come across this equation in my research, and I am so far unable to solve it. The equation is: \frac{dV}{dt} + \frac{1}{RC}V - \frac{I}{C}e^{(-V/n)} = \frac{V_f}{RC} - \frac{I}{C} both terms on the right-hand-side are constants; throughout the equation R, C, I, n, and Vf are...
  3. V

    Second order nonlinear differential equation

    hi, i am facing problem in solving the following differential equation. help me. y''+ayy'+b=0, where y is a function of x, 'a' & 'b' are constants. i have tried substituting y'=u, which implies u'=u*dy/dx, these substitution change the equation to first order but i found no...
  4. C

    Nonlinear differential equation to state space form

    Homework Statement The problem gives a nonlinear differential equation for a metallic ball suspended under maggnetic levitation: y**(t)=9.81- (0.981u(t))/(y+1)2 (note: y**= second derivative of y)\ where y(t) is the position of the ball and u(t) is the voltage applied ti the magnet...
  5. A

    Number of solutions of a nonlinear differential equation.

    As far as I know, for an n-th order homogeneous linear differential equation, there are n number of linearly independent solutions and the general solution to the equation is a linear combination of them. In the case of nth order homogeneous non-linear differential equation can it be shown that...
  6. A

    Nonlinear Differential equation and simplification techniques

    Suppose there is a nonlinear differential equation in y(x) of the form: y''(x)(c_1+a^2y(x)^2)+p_1(x)y'(x)^3-by(x)y'(x)^2+p_2'(x)(c_1+a^2y(x)^2)+hy(x)=0 Where prime denotes derivative with respect to the argument x; p_i are known variables, and c,a,b,h are constants. Is there any way to write...
  7. G

    Solution to 1st order nonlinear differential equation

    Hi, I'm a PhD student in Operations Management, and I've stumbled across a differential equation while modeling an OM concept. I was wondering if you could help me with this differential equation, or direct me in a way that would help me solve it. The equation is...
  8. A

    Unique soultion of a set of nonlinear differential equations.

    Is there any theorem or result which tells us whether a given set of nonlinar coupled differential equation (ordinary/partial) will have unique solution set? I need to know the answer for a second order ODE set. I understand there may be some difficulty since in this case the integration...
  9. T

    How to solve this 2nd order nonlinear differential equation

    Hello all, This is the first time I've stumbled across this site, but it appears to be extremely helpful. I am a meteorology grad student, and in my research, I have run across the following 2nd order non linear differential equation. It is of the form: y'' + a*y*y' + b*y=0 where a...
  10. S

    Solving a first-order nonlinear differential equation.

    [Differential equation at the end; All the intermediary stuff is the problem behind it.] I was curious about finding the velocity function for a free-falling object using solely Newton's equations. Using the force diagram, I've deduced that m-mass g-gravitational constant f_net - net...
  11. B

    Nonlinear Differential Equation

    Hi all, Can anyone please give me an example of a nonlinear differential equation used to model a certain type of circuit? Thanks
  12. S

    Solving a Nonlinear Differential Equation

    Hello! I tried to prove, that ideal rope (see picture in attachment) has a shape of the function ch[x]. I finished with this equation [h'(x)]^2-h(x)\cdot h''(x)+1=0 Yes, when you try function h[x]=ch[x], you get 0 on the left side, but I have no clue how to solve this equation (find...
  13. J

    MATLAB 1D 2nd-Order nonlinear differential eqn using Matlab

    Hi all, I am more into physics than maths and I need you guys to please help me out. Also I am new to programming in MATLAB. I have done some but still I consider myself a novice. I need to solve the problem in MATLAB. So here is the problem.Its a 2 point BVP(boundary value problem) along...
  14. J

    MATLAB 1D 2nd-Order nonlinear differential eqn in Matlab

    Hi all, I am more into physics than maths and I need you guys to please help me out. Also I am new to programming in MATLAB. I have done some but still I consider myself a novice. I need to solve the problem in MATLAB. So here is the problem.Its a 2 point BVP(boundary value problem) along...
  15. D

    Nonlinear differential equation (quick)

    I need some help with the problem that follows. Any help is highly appreciated. Problem: "Consider the initial value problem y^{\prime}=y^{1/3}, \mbox{ }y(0)=0 from Example 3 in the text. (a) Is there a solution that passes through the point (1,1)? If so, find it. (b) Is there a solution...
  16. B

    Second order nonlinear differential equation problem

    I need to solve the following second order nonlinear differential equation: z''(b) * [6(1 - f)z(b) + (1+f)b z'(b)] = (15 - 9 f)[z'(b)]^2 + [2(1 - f) z(b) z'(b)] / b + [4 f z'(b)^(5/2)] / b^(1/2) where f is a constant between [0,1]. initial conditions are z(0)=0 and z'(0)=0 I...
  17. A

    Need help with nonlinear differential equations

    The problem is on competing species. For the problem, I am supposed to find the critical points. For each critical point, I need to find the eigenvalues and eigenvectors and classify the type of critical point and its stability. dx/dt = x(1.5 - x - 0.5y) dy/dt = y(2 - y -0.75x) I got...
  18. S

    Nonlinear Differential equation

    Variable co-effiecients Linear Differential equation \frac{d^2 y}{dx^2} = c_1y(1-c_2x) any help? Is there a solution besides a series solution?
  19. S

    Mathematica Mathematica Help with nonlinear differential?

    Having some troubles getting further in this system I'm trying to solve. The notebook's at http://www.gabrielwyner.com/fluids5.nb PDF form: http://www.gabrielwyner.com/fluids5.pdf I guess the most current problem involves mathematica complaining about DSolve[h'[t] = f[h[t],h[0]]] (with...
Back
Top