Re: mathematica newbie question
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg66904] Re: [mg66879] mathematica newbie question
- From: Murray Eisenberg <murray at math.umass.edu>
- Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 03:25:41 -0400 (EDT)
- Organization: Mathematics & Statistics, Univ. of Mass./Amherst
- References: <200606020809.EAA18070@smc.vnet.net>
- Reply-to: murray at math.umass.edu
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Mathematica did exactly what you asked it to do! (I'm assuming you
accidentally omitted a leading left brace in the input expression you
typed below.)
Many Mathematica numeric functions (and others) have attribute Listable,
that is, they automatically percolate down to elements of lists (and
then elements of elements of lists, etc.). One such function is Power,
which is the one you used:
FullForm[a^2]
Power[a, 2]
You obtained exactly the same result you would have obtained had you
used the multiplication operator explicitly:
m = {{0, 0, 0}, {1, 1, 1}, {1, 1, 1}};
m * m
{{0, 0, 0}, {1, 1, 1}, {1, 1, 1}}
(The Times function, for which * is an abbreviation, is also Listable.)
And this is the same sort of thing going on if you tried to add the
matrix to itself, that is, the operation would have been performed
entry-by-entry.
To raise a matrix to a power, use the MatrixPower function, or use the
abbreviation . for the Dot function:
MatrixPower[m, 2]
{{0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 0}}
m . m
{{0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 0}, {0, 0, 0}}
Jeremy Watts wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just trying to get to grips with Mathematica and matrices. Why is it when I
> enter :-
> {0, 0, 0}, {1, -1, -1}, {-1, 1, 1}}^2
>
> then Mathematica returns :-
>
> {{0, 0, 0}, {1, 1, 1}, {1, 1, 1}}
>
> and not {{0,0,0},{0,0,0},{0,0,0}} (the actual square of the matrix) as I'd
> have expected?
>
> Is it treating what I entered as separate vectors or something, and not an
> actual matrix?
>
> Thanks
>
>
>
--
Murray Eisenberg murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts 413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street fax 413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305
- References:
- mathematica newbie question
- From: "Jeremy Watts" <jwatts1970@hotmail.com>
- mathematica newbie question