A question about writing the notation of the nabla operator

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
2 replies · 3K views
sams
Gold Member
Messages
84
Reaction score
2
I have a simple question about the notation of the nabla operator in Vector Analysis. The nabla operator is a vector differential operator and it is written as:

$$\nabla = \hat{x} \frac {∂} {∂x} + \hat{y} \frac {∂} {∂y} + \hat{z} \frac {∂} {∂z}$$

Is it okay if we accented nabla by a right arrow such that

$$\vec{\nabla} = \hat{x} \frac {∂} {∂x} + \hat{y} \frac {∂} {∂y} + \hat{z} \frac {∂} {∂z}$$

Excuse me for this silly question, but I want to know the correct notation for nabla, since I am encountering both notations on the internet. Thank you so much in advance...
 
Physics news on Phys.org
It depends on how you note vectors. Common notations include the overhead arrow, as you wrote, but using boldface is also quite common.

The nabla operator is a vector operator, so use whatever notation you are using for vector quantities.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: sams
Thank you DrClaude for your continuous help...