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Differential

 

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Differential



 
  Differential may refer to:

Medicine


  • Differential diagnosis
    Differential diagnosis

    A differential diagnosis is a systematic method used to identify unknowns. This method, essentially a process of elimination, is used by taxonomy to identify living organisms, and by physicians and other qualified healthcare professionals to diagnosis the specific disease in a patient....
     refers to the characterization of the underlying cause of pathological states based on specific tests.


  • Differential WBC count is the enumeration of each type of white blood cells either manually or using automated analyzers.


Mathematics


  • Differential calculus
    Differential (calculus)

    In calculus, a differential is traditionally an infinitesimally small change in a variable. For example, if x is a variable, then a change in the value of x is often denoted ?x ....
     comprises multiple related meanings of the word, both in calculus and differential geometry, such as an infinitesimal change in the value of a function
  • In traditional approaches to calculus, the differential of a function represents an extremely small
    Infinitesimal

    Infinitesimals have been used to express the idea of objects so small that there is no way to see them or to measure them. For everyday life, an infinitesimal object is an object which is smaller than any possible measure....
     change in its value and employs the dx, dy, dt symbols.
  • In differential geometry, differentials represent the exterior derivative
    Exterior derivative

    In differential geometry, the exterior derivative extends the concept of the differential of a function, which is a form of degree zero, to differential forms of higher degree....
    s of the coordinate functions
    Coordinate system

    In mathematics and its applications, a coordinate system is a system for assigning an n-tuple of numbers or scalar to each Point in an n-dimensional space....
     on a differentiable manifold
    Differentiable manifold

    A differentiable manifold is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to Euclidean space to allow one to do calculus. This article deals with differentiability in different contexts including: smooth function, k times differentiable, and holomorphic function....
    .


  • Differential (coboundary), in homological algebra and algebraic topology, one of the maps of a cochain complex
  • Differential (cryptography)
    Differential cryptanalysis

    Differential cryptanalysis is a general form of cryptanalysis applicable primarily to block ciphers, but also to stream ciphers and cryptographic hash functions....
    , in differential cryptanalysis, a pair consisting of the difference, usually computed by XOR (exclusive or), between two plaintexts, and the difference of the corresponding ciphertexts


See also derivative
Derivative

In calculus, a branch of mathematics, the derivative is a measure of how a function changes as its input changes. Loosely speaking, a derivative can be thought of as how much a quantity is changing at a given point....
, differential calculus
Differential calculus

Differential calculus, a field in mathematics, is the study of how function s change when their inputs change. The primary object of study in differential calculus is the derivative....
.


Natural sciences and engineering


  • Differential (mechanical device). As part of a powertrain
    Powertrain

    In a motor vehicle, the term powertrain or powerplant refers to the group of components that generate power and deliver it to the road surface, water, or air....
    , the device that allows each of the driving wheels to rotate at different speeds.
  • Electronic Differential
    Electronic Differential

    The main purpose of the electronic differential is to substitute the Differential in multi-drive systems providing the demanded torque for each driving wheel and allowing different wheel speeds....
    , an electric motor controller which substitutes its mechanical counterpart with significant advantages in electric vehicle application.
  • In electronics
    Electronics

    Electronics refers to the flow of charge through nonmetal electrical conductor , whereas electrical refers to the flow of charge through metal electrical conductor....
    , differential signaling
    Differential signaling

    Differential signaling is a method of transmitting information electrically by means of two complementary Signal sent on two separate wires. The technique can be used for both analog signaling, as in some Sound recording and reproduction systems, and digital signaling, as in RS-422, RS-485, Ethernet , PCI Express and USB....
     applies to a method of transmitting electronic signals over a pair of wires to improve noise immunity.


Social sciences


  • Semantic
    Semantic differential

    Semantic differential is a type of a rating scale designed to measure the Connotation of objects, events, and concepts. The connotations are used to derive attitude_ towards the given object, event or concept....
     and structural differential
    Structural differential

    The Structural differential is a physical chart or three-dimensional model illustrating the abstracting processes of the human nervous system. In one form, it looks like a pegboard with tags....
    s in psychology
  • A quality spread differential
    Quality Spread Differential

    Quality Spread Differential arises during an interest rate swap in which two parties of different levels of creditworthiness experience different levels of interest rates of debt obligations....
     in finance
  • Compensating differential
    Compensating differential

    Compensating differential is a term used in labor economics to analyze the relation between the wage rate and the unpleasantness, risk, or other undesirable attributes of a particular job....
     in labor economics


Other uses


The word
differential is also used in many fields as an adjective to refer to differences, particularly those of a variable
Variable

A variable is a symbol that stands for a value that may vary; the term usually occurs in opposition to constant, which is a symbol for a non-varying value, i.e....
 or continuous
Continuous function

In mathematics, a continuous function is a function for which, intuitively, small changes in the input result in small changes in the output. Otherwise, a function is said to be discontinuous....
 nature. Examples include differential hardening
Differential hardening

Differential hardening is a method used in forging swords and knife to increase the hardness of the edge without making the whole blade brittle....
 in metallurgy, differential rotation
Differential rotation

Differential rotation is seen when different parts of a rotating object move with different angular velocity . This indicates that the object is not solid....
 in astronomy, differential centrifugation
Differential centrifugation

Differential centrifugation is a common procedure in microbiology and Cell biology used to separate certain organelles from whole Cell s for further analysis of specific parts of cells....
 in cell biology, differential scanning calorimetry
Differential scanning calorimetry

Differential scanning calorimetry or DSC is a thermal analysis technique in which the difference in the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of a sample and reference are measured as a function of temperature....
 in materials science, differential signalling in communications, differential algebra
Differential algebra

In mathematics, differential rings, differential fields and differential algebras are ring , field and algebra over a field equipped with a derivation, which is a Unary_operation function satisfying the Leibniz law ....
 in mathematics, differential execution
Differential Execution

Differential execution refers to a method of executing a computer subroutine in such a way that differences from prior executions can be detected and acted upon....
 in computer science, and differential GPS
Differential GPS

Differential Global Positioning System is an enhancement to Global Positioning System that uses a network of fixed, ground-based reference stations to broadcast the difference between the positions indicated by the satellite systems and the known fixed positions....
 technology.