Microsoft Excel Help - Sum a Series Function

[conquertheworld5]

this is rather embarrassing, but it's late, i have a headache and can't figure this out.

so i have this complicated function i need to sum (not sum as in add up - sum as in sum a series).
my formula that needs to be summed:
(2/(n*pi))*sin(n*pi*z/L)*e^(-(n^2)*pi*pi*k*t/(L^2))

pi, z, L, k, t are constants, i want sum n from 1 to 10... i looked through all the "sum" functions but i couldn't find a summation in which i could enter a function to be summed.

help?
Thanks

 

[Dr Transport]

Set the first column to the numbers 1 thru 10, then in the second column, set up your formulas for each n and sum down the column.

 

[caslav.ilic]

So, I was waiting for somebody to say it... :)

In my opinion, spreadsheet is a braindead tool for any computation past what you'd jot on a piece of paper in a grocery store. If one doesn't intend to compute anything more complicated than that in the nearby future, spreadsheet might be a reasonable way to go.

Otherwise, I recommend switching to a tool that could support exactly what OP originally had in mind (passing one function to another), and, say, doesn't require more than flicking one number in order to increase or decrease the number of terms in the summation. Which would be just about any tool, e.g. the ubiquitous Matlab.

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Chusslove Illich (Часлав Илић)