Why is it interesting?

The divergence is a crucial tool, for example, in electrodynamics. This can be seen immediately, because the fundamental equations of electrodynamics (called Maxwell equations) contain the divergence of the electric and magnetic fields.

Layman

Divergence (div) is “flux density”—the amount of flux entering or leaving a point. Think of it as the rate of flux expansion (positive divergence) or flux contraction (negative divergence). If you measure flux in bananas (and c’mon, who doesn’t?), a positive divergence means your location is a source of bananas. You’ve hit the Donkey Kong jackpot.

Vector Calculus: Understanding Divergence by Kalid Azad

Student

• Vector Calculus: Understanding Divergence by Kalid Azad
• Another great discussion of the divergence in vector calculus can be found in Section 3 of Vol. 2 of Feynman's Lectures on Physics, which is available here

Researcher

Examples

Example1

Example2:

FAQ

History