The history of our field: reflections on the solid foundations on which we stand--the contributions of Griffith...

The principle of superposition applies to gravitational forces of objects that are sufficiently far apart. It states that the net gravitational force on a point object is the vector sum of the gravitational forces on it due to various objects. The principle helps calculate the force by listing the individual forces and then vectorially summing them up. However, it should be noted that the principle of superposition is not always apparent. In the presence of a second force, the first force could...

A line integral for a vector field is defined as the integral of the dot product of a vector function with an infinitesimal displacement vector along a prescribed path. If the prescribed path is closed, the integrals reduce to a closed-line integral. The closed-contour integral of the vector field is referred to in terms of the circulation of the vector field around the closed path. A vector with zero circulation around every closed path is called a conservative field, while one with non-zero...

The divergence and Stokes' theorems are a variation of Green's theorem in a higher dimension. They are also a generalization of the fundamental theorem of calculus. The divergence theorem and Stokes' theorem are in a way similar to each other; The divergence theorem relates to the dot product of a vector, while Stokes' theorem relates to the curl of a vector. Many applications in physics and engineering make use of the divergence and Stokes' theorems, enabling us to write numerous physical laws...

The total amount of current flowing per unit cross-sectional area is called the current density. Hence, the current passing through a cross-sectional area can be written as the surface integral of the current density.

The divergence of a vector is a measure of how much the vector spreads out (diverges) from a point. For example, an electric field vector diverges from the positive charge and converges at the negative charge. The divergence of an electric field is derived using Gauss's law and is equal to the charge density divided by the permittivity of space. Mathematically, it is expressed as

Gravimetric analysis is a quantitative method where the analyte is isolated and weighed directly or after conversion into a substance of known composition. Gravimetric analysis can be classified as precipitation, electrogravimetry, volatilization, and particulate gravimetry, based on the method used to isolate the analyte.
In precipitation gravimetry, the analyte is converted into a precipitate and weighed. For example, the silver content in a sample can be estimated by precipitating and...