Divergence

In mathematics, divergence is a differential operator that associates a vector field with a scalar field. In a vector field, each point of the field is associated with a vector; in a scalar field, each point of the field is associated with a scalar.

Given a vector field $\mathbf {F}$, the divergence of $\mathbf {F}$ can be written as $\operatorname {div} \mathbf {F}$ or $\nabla \cdot \mathbf {F}$, where $\nabla$ is the gradient and $\cdot$ is the dot product operation.

Divergence is used to formulate Maxwell's equations and the continuity equation.

Related pages

• Curl
• Vector calculus