Introduction

The area of mathematics known as vector calculus is used to model mathematically a vast range of engineering phenomena including electrostatics, electromagnetic fields, air flow around aircraft and heat flow in nuclear reactors. In this Section we introduce briefly the differential calculus of vectors.

Prerequisites

• have a knowledge of vectors, in Cartesian form
• be able to calculate the scalar and vector products of two vectors
• be able to differentiate and integrate scalar functions

Learning Outcomes

• differentiate vectors