A differential form is (technically) a function that we can calculate value at a point and AFAIK it has nothing to do with infinitesimals nor tends to anything. A course in precalculus, calculus, or even real analysis almost never gives an answer to "What is dx?". It is only until differential geometry, one gets to learn what it is. One should not learn these from Wikipedia but from a ...
Differential geometry is the application of differential calculus in the setting of smooth manifolds (curves, surfaces and higher dimensional examples). Modern differential geometry focuses on "geometric structures" on such manifolds, such as bundles and connections; for questions not concerning such structures, use (differential-topology) instead. Use (symplectic-geometry), (riemannian ...
derivatives - What is the difference between a differential and a ...
Anyone who sees calculus in application is likely to encounter both derivatives and differentials. The two concepts have confusingly similar notation. For that reason, this post is a very important contribution.
calculus - What is the practical difference between a differential and ...
The right question is not "What is a differential?" but "How do differentials behave?". Let me explain this by way of an analogy. Suppose I teach you all the rules for adding and multiplying rational numbers. Then you ask me "But what are the rational numbers?" The answer is: They are anything that obeys those rules. Now in order for that to make sense, we have to know that there's at least ...
75 can someone please informally (but intuitively) explain what "differential form" mean? I know that there is (of course) some formalism behind it - definition and possible operations with differential forms, but what is the motivation of introducing and using this object (differential form)?