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Why eigen?

 
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Samadhi
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 4:30 am    Post subject: 1 Reply with quote

Eigenvalue, eigenvector, eigenvalence...etc

Why eigen? My best guess is that it has to do with Ax = [lambda]x

I've heard true or same for a definition which makes sense. The vector x stays "true", IE after some linear transformation it is still some scalar multiple of itself.

But, I'd really like something more definite.
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Lepton
1:41+ Arse Scratcher



PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:08 am    Post subject: 2 Reply with quote

Quote:
At the start of the 20th century, Hilbert studied the eigenvalues of integral operators by considering them to be infinite matrices. He was the first to use the German word eigen to denote eigenvalues and eigenvectors in 1904, though he may have been following a related usage by Helmholtz. "Eigen" can be translated as "own", "peculiar to", "characteristic" or "individual"—emphasizing how important eigenvalues are to defining the unique nature of a specific transformation. For some time, the standard term in English was "proper value", but the more distinctive term "eigenvalue" is standard today.
From the Wikipedia Entry
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Samadhi
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:30 am    Post subject: 3 Reply with quote

Thank you.

That fits nicely.
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