What is Calculus of variations?
The '''calculus of variations''' is a field of mathematical analysis. It usually deals with [[Function (mathematics)|functions]] defined on the [[real numbers]], and with finding minima and maxima of such functions. When finding a minimum or maximum, there are often additional conditions that need to be satisfied. In the 18th century, mathematicians such as [[Leonhard Euler]] and [[Joseph-Louis Lagrange]] made this kind of calculus popular. Other people who influenced it include [[Adrien-Marie Legendre]], [[Alfred Clebsch]], [[Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi]] and [[Karl Weierstraß]]. Today, calculus of variations is used in different fields of [[science]], such as [[geodesy]], [[theoretical physics]], [[classical mechanics]] and [[quantum mechanics]]. [[Category:Functions and mappings]] {{math-stub}} {{Functional analysis}} {{authority control}}