Numerical analysis: Difference between revisions

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'''Numerical analysis''' is the study of [[algorithm]]s that use numerical [[approximation]] (as opposed to [[symbolic computation|symbolic manipulations]]) for the problems of [[mathematical analysis]] (as distinguished from [[discrete mathematics]]). It is the study of numerical methods that attempt to find approximate solutions of problems rather than the exact ones. Numerical analysis finds application in all fields of engineering and the physical sciences, and in the 21st century also the life and social sciences like economics, medicine, business and even the arts. Current growth in computing power has enabled the use of more complex numerical analysis, providing detailed and realistic mathematical models in science and engineering. Examples of numerical analysis include: [[ordinary differential equation]]s as found in [[celestial mechanics]] (predicting the motions of planets, stars and galaxies), [[numerical linear algebra]] in data analysis,<ref>{{cite book |first=J.W. |last=Demmel |title=Applied numerical linear algebra |publisher=[[Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics|SIAM]] |date=1997 |isbn=978-1-61197-144-6 |doi=10.1137/1.9781611971446 |url=https://epubs.siam.org/doi/epdf/10.1137/1.9781611971446.fm}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ciarlet |first1=P.G. |last2=Miara |first2=B. |last3=Thomas |first3=J.M. |title=Introduction to numerical linear algebra and optimization |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1989 |isbn=9780521327886 |oclc=877155729 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Trefethen |first1=Lloyd |last2=Bau III |first2=David |title=Numerical Linear Algebra |publisher=SIAM |date=1997 |isbn=978-0-89871-361-9 |url={{GBurl|4Mou5YpRD_kC|pg=PR7}}}}</ref> and [[stochastic differential equation]]s and [[Markov chain]]s for simulating living cells in medicine and biology.

Before modern computers, [[numerical method]]s often relied on hand [[interpolation]] formulas, using data from large printed tables. Since the mid -20th century, computers calculate the required functions instead, but many of the same formulas continue to be used in software algorithms.<ref name="20c">{{cite book |last1=Brezinski |first1=C. |last2=Wuytack |first2=L. |title=Numerical analysis: Historical developments in the 20th century |publisher=Elsevier |date=2012 |isbn=978-0-444-59858-5 |url={{GBurl|dt3Z1yu2VxwC|pg=PP6}}}}</ref>

The numerical point of view goes back to the earliest mathematical writings. A tablet from the [[Yale Babylonian Collection]] ([[YBC 7289]]), gives a [[sexagesimal]] numerical approximation of the [[square root of 2]], the length of the [[diagonal]] in a [[unit square]].