Talk:Superposition principle
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[edit] question
...so it means you just add up the results?70.25.138.179 04:13, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
- It means that if you add two solutions, it is also a solution. Hypothetically, if F[x]=x and F[x]=y AND if the superposition principle holds, THEN F[x] also = x+y Fresheneesz 10:24, 11 March 2006 (UTC)
- Now see, this is a clear explanation. Why can't it be stated in this way in the article? Currently the article is only comprehensable when you've taken higher math in university. One or two sentences in the introduction describing the principle to laymen would be appreciated. 213.224.85.44 10:56, 17 June 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Mathematics
The superposition principle is often cited in mathematics. It would be very helpful to note in what ways the superposition principle is used in math. I don't know enough about it to add it. Fresheneesz 10:24, 11 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Mathy
This article is far too user-unfriendly. I am a great fan of calculus, though I am more enthusiastic about referencing - but this physics article does not have enough physis. Diagrams of superpositioning between two sound waves of same frequency would be great. I know this is the principle of superposition but there is no article titled for linear superposition and what little physics is out there about this is well... little. Considering how useful linear superpositioning is with everyday lifes, its amazing that there isn't a FA about it. Tourskin 04:59, 8 March 2007 (UTC)
[edit] My rewrite
I just rewrote a substantial proportion of the article. The most unorthodox thing I put in, I suspect, is splitting the superposition principle into the "first version" and "second version". I'm well aware that these are closely related, and that there are uses of the superposition principle that can't neatly be classed as one or the other. But I think it's important to keep it in there, if for no other reason than the sociological fact that people talking about the superposition principle are sometimes imagining waves passing through each other and interfering, and sometimes imagining some sort of stimulus-response (like a voltage being applied to a linear circuit), but they're rarely thinking about both at once. Moreover, this distinction seems to corresponds relatively cleanly with whether the most natural form of the equation describing the phenomenon is homogeneous or inhomogeneous. Thoughts? --Steve (talk) 05:04, 25 November 2007 (UTC)
- I just tagged this page as needing some reorganization, and then came here to discuss it, so I suppose most of my thoughts on it are a response to your rewrite, Steve. I'm not really comfortable with the idea of your two "versions", mostly because it is not a standard term used in explaining the concepts and I've never thought of it that way. Perhaps all that's needed is a mention that the concept is more fully explained at interference. But I may be missing the point, so I'm just tossing my concern "out there" for now. --Qrystal (talk) 20:00, 26 February 2008 (UTC)
