Divergence operator in cylindrical & sherical

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the divergence operator in cylindrical and spherical coordinates, with participants seeking proofs and resources related to the formulas used in these coordinate systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster requests proof for the divergence operator formulas and shares a link for reference. Other participants suggest additional resources and provide a mathematical expression for the "Del" operator in curvilinear coordinates, including scaling factors and parametrization variables.

Discussion Status

The discussion includes various resources being shared, and participants are exploring the mathematical definitions and representations of the divergence operator. There is an exchange of information without a clear consensus on a single approach or solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants are discussing the divergence operator within the constraints of homework guidelines, focusing on finding proofs and resources rather than deriving solutions directly.

sedaw
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
Physics news on Phys.org
The "Del" operator in any orthogonal curvilinear coordinates is:

<br /> \widetilde{\bigtriangledown} =\left ( \frac{1}{h_{1}}\frac{\partial }{\partial u_{1}}, \frac{1}{h_{2}}\frac{\partial }{\partial u_{2}},\frac{1}{h_{3}}\frac{\partial }{\partial u_{3}} \right )<br />

where:

<br /> h_{1},h_{2},h_{3}<br />

are the "scaling factors"

and

<br /> u_{1},u_{2},u_{3}<br />

are the parametrization variables.Example in Spherical Coordinates:

<br /> h_{r}=\left \| \frac{\partial \vec{r}}{\partial r} \right \|=\left \| \frac{1}{\bigtriangledown r} \right \|=<br /> \left \| \frac{1}{\left ( \frac{\partial r}{\partial x}, \frac{\partial r}{\partial y},\frac{\partial r}{\partial z} \right )} \right \|<br />
*same idea for Theta and Phi...

<br /> \widetilde{\bigtriangledown} =\left ( \frac{1}{1}\frac{\partial }{\partial r}, \frac{1}{r}\frac{\partial }{\partial \theta },\frac{1}{r sin(\theta) }\frac{\partial }{\partial \varphi } \right )<br />

makes sense? :)
 
thank you !
 
Wikipedia also usually a good resource to find these kinds of formulas collected in one place.
 

Similar threads

Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
14
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
9K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 43 ·
2
Replies
43
Views
5K