vector
Physics
(noun)
A directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the between two points.
Microbiology
(noun)
A carrier of a disease-causing agent.
Psychology
(noun)
In computational neuroscience, a list containing several values.
Calculus
(noun)
a directed quantity, one with both magnitude and direction; the signed difference between two points
Statistics
(noun)
in statistics, a set of real-valued random variables that may be correlated
Examples of vector in the following topics:
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Components of a Vector
- All vectors have a length, called the magnitude, which represents some quality of interest so that the vector may be compared to another vector.
- Vectors, being arrows, also have a direction.
- To visualize the process of decomposing a vector into its components, begin by drawing the vector from the origin of a set of coordinates.
- This is the horizontal component of the vector.
- He also uses a demonstration to show the importance of vectors and vector addition.
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Adding and Subtracting Vectors Graphically
- Draw a new vector from the origin to the head of the last vector.
- Since vectors are graphical visualizations, addition and subtraction of vectors can be done graphically.
- This new line is the vector result of adding those vectors together.
- Then, to subtract a vector, proceed as if adding the opposite of that vector.
- Draw a new vector from the origin to the head of the last vector.
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Vectors in Three Dimensions
- A Euclidean vector (sometimes called a geometric or spatial vector, or—as here—simply a vector) is a geometric object that has magnitude (or length) and direction and can be added to other vectors according to vector algebra.
- Vectors play an important role in physics: velocity and acceleration of a moving object and forces acting on it are all described by vectors.
- Thus the bound vector represented by $(1,0,0)$ is a vector of unit length pointing from the origin along the positive $x$-axis.
- The coordinate representation of vectors allows the algebraic features of vectors to be expressed in a convenient numerical fashion.
- For example, the sum of the vectors $(1,2,3)$ and $(−2,0,4)$ is the vector:
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Tangent Vectors and Normal Vectors
- A vector is normal to another vector if the intersection of the two form a 90-degree angle at the tangent point.
- In order for a vector to be normal to an object or vector, it must be perpendicular with the directional vector of the tangent point.
- When you take the dot product of two vectors, your answer is in the form of a single value, not a vector.
- Tangent vectors are almost exactly like normal vectors, except they are tangent instead of normal to the other vector or object.
- These vectors can be found by obtaining the derivative of the reference vector, $\mathbf{r}(t)$:
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Multiplying Vectors by a Scalar
- Multiplying a vector by a scalar changes the magnitude of the vector but not the direction.
- A scalar, however, cannot be multiplied by a vector.
- To multiply a vector by a scalar, simply multiply the similar components, that is, the vector's magnitude by the scalar's magnitude.
- Most of the units used in vector quantities are intrinsically scalars multiplied by the vector.
- (i) Multiplying the vector $A$ by the scalar $a=0.5$ yields the vector $B$ which is half as long.
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Unit Vectors and Multiplication by a Scalar
- In addition to adding vectors, vectors can also be multiplied by constants known as scalars.
- When multiplying a vector by a scalar, the direction of the vector is unchanged and the magnitude is multiplied by the magnitude of the scalar .
- Once you have the vector's components, multiply each of the components by the scalar to get the new components and thus the new vector.
- A useful concept in the study of vectors and geometry is the concept of a unit vector.
- A unit vector is a vector with a length or magnitude of one.
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Adding and Subtracting Vectors Using Components
- Another way of adding vectors is to add the components.
- If we were to add this to another vector of the same magnitude and direction, we would get a vector twice as long at the same angle.
- This new line is the resultant vector.
- Vector Addition Lesson 2 of 2: How to Add Vectors by Components
- This video gets viewers started with vector addition using a mathematical approach and shows vector addition by components.
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The Cross Product
- The cross product of two vectors is a vector which is perpendicular to both of the original vectors.
- The result is a vector which is perpendicular to both of the original vectors.
- Because it is perpendicular to both original vectors, the resulting vector is normal to the plane of the original vectors.
- The magnitude of vector $c$ is equal to the area of the parallelogram made by the two original vectors.
- If you use the rules shown in the figure, your thumb will be pointing in the direction of vector $c$, the cross product of the vectors.
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Vectors for Genomic Cloning and Sequencing
- The four major types of vectors are plasmids, viral vectors, cosmids, and artificial chromosomes.
- The vector itself is generally a DNA sequence that consists of an insert (transgene) and a larger sequence that serves as the "backbone" of the vector.
- Simpler vectors called transcription vectors are only capable of being transcribed but not translated: they can be replicated in a target cell but not expressed, unlike expression vectors.
- Transcription vectors are used to amplify their insert.
- In the case of plasmids utilized as transcription vectors, incubating bacteria with plasmids generates hundreds or thousands of copies of the vector within the bacteria in hours.
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Calculus of Vector-Valued Functions
- A vector function is a function that can behave as a group of individual vectors and can perform differential and integral operations.
- A vector-valued function, also referred to as a vector function, is a mathematical function of one or more variables whose range is a set of multidimensional vectors or infinite-dimensional vectors.
- The input of a vector-valued function could be a scalar or a vector.
- Vector calculus is a branch of mathematics that covers differentiation and integration of vector fields in any number of dimensions.
- Because vector functions behave like individual vectors, you can manipulate them the same way you can a vector.