Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences/Chapter 1/Section 3

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Overview

  • Even if you can't add up all the terms in a series, usually after adding the first few (literally, the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) you get dang close to the answer.
  • If you can't integrate or differentiate a complicated function, you can find an infinite series that is equivalent to it and integrate or differentiate that.
  • Some of the hardest problems to solve are solved by saying, "Suppose the answer is an infinite series..."

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