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In mathematics, a volume element provides a means for integrating a function with respect to volume in various coordinate systems such as spherical coordinates and cylindrical coordinates. Thus a volume element is an expression of the form : where the are the coordinates, so that the volume of any set can be computed by : For example, in spherical coordinates , and so . The notion of a volume element is not limited to three dimensions: in two dimensions it is often known as the area element, and in this setting it is useful for doing surface integrals. Under changes of coordinates, the volume element changes by the absolute value of the Jacobian determinant of the coordinate transformation (by the change of variables formula). This fact allows volume elements to be defined as a kind of measure on a manifold. On an orientable differentiable manifold, a volume element typically arises from a volume form: a top degree differential form. On a non-orientable manifold, the volume element is typically the absolute value of a (locally defined) volume form: it defines a 1-density. ==Volume element in Euclidean space== In Euclidean space, the volume element is given by the product of the differentials of the Cartesian coordinates : In different coordinate systems of the form , the volume element changes by the Jacobian of the coordinate change: : For example, in spherical coordinates : the Jacobian is : so that : This can be seen as a special case of the fact that differential forms transform through a pullback as : 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「volume element」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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