flux
Sign in to saveFlux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phenomena, flux is a vector quantity, describing the magnitude and direction of the flow of a substance or property. In vector calculus, flux is a scalar quantity, defined as the surface integral of the perpendicular component of a vector field over a surface.
~20 min read
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- Flux as flow rate per unit area
- General mathematical definition (transport)
- Properties
- Transport fluxes
- Chemical diffusion
- Quantum mechanics
- Flux as a surface integral
- General mathematical definition (surface integral)
- Electromagnetism
- Electric flux
- Magnetic flux
- Poynting flux
- SI radiometry units
- See also
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
Flux describes any effect that appears to pass or travel (whether it actually moves or not) through a surface or substance. Flux is a concept in applied mathematics and vector calculus which has many applications in physics. For transport phenomena, flux is a vector quantity, describing the magnitude and direction of the flow of a substance or property. In vector calculus, flux is a scalar quantity, defined as the surface integral of the perpendicular component of a vector field over a surface.
== Terminology == The word flux comes from Latin: fluxus means "flow", and fluere is "to flow". As fluxion, this term was introduced into differential calculus by Isaac Newton.