Vector multiplication??
- To: mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu
- Subject: Vector multiplication??
- From: "Katherine (Williams) Derbyshire" <kewms at kew.com>
- Date: Sun, 29 Nov 1992 15:48:41 EST
I have an arbitrary vector
A = Array[a,3] = {a[1], a[2], a[3]}
The dot product of this vector with itself, is evaluated correctly by
Mathematica:
a[1]^2 + a[2]^2 + a[3]^2
The 'ordinary' product of this vector with itself, A^2, should be
equivalent to the dot product. It is, in fact, conventional in
mechanical engineering to interpret A^2 as the square of the magnitude
of A, (i. e. as a dot product). My linear algebra text doesn't offer
any definition for this expression at all. Unfortunately, Mathematica
(2.0 for Windows) interprets A^2 as
{a[1]^2, a[2]^2, a[3]^2}
which isn't the same at all.
What's going on here? I know I could fix this by writing a
transformation rule, but it would be nice if Mathematica didn't give
wrong answers in the first place.
--
Katherine (Williams) Derbyshire
kewms at kew.com
Are we having fun, yet?