TENSOR

tensor

(noun) any of several muscles that cause an attached structure to become tense or firm

tensor

(noun) a generalization of the concept of a vector

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

tensor (plural tensors)

(anatomy) A muscle that stretches a part, or renders it tense.

(mathematics, linear algebra, physics) A mathematical object that describes linear relations on scalars, vectors, matrices and other tensors, and is represented as a multidimensional array.

(mathematics, obsolete) A norm operation on the quaternion algebra.

Usage notes

(mathematics, linear algebra)

• The array's dimensionality (number of indices needed to label a component) is called its order (also degree or rank).

• Tensors operate in the context of a vector space and thus within a choice of basis vectors, but, because they express relationships between vectors, must be independent of any given choice of basis. This independence takes the form of a law of covariant and/or contravariant transformation that relates the arrays computed in different bases. The precise form of the transformation law determines the type (or valence) of the tensor. The tensor type is a pair of natural numbers (n, m), where n is the number of contravariant indices and m the number of covariant indices. The total order of the tensor is the sum n + m.

Hypernyms

• function

Hyponyms

• hypertensor

• supertensor

• vector

Verb

tensor (third-person singular simple present tensors, present participle tensoring, simple past and past participle tensored)

To compute the tensor product of two tensors.

Anagrams

• Nestor, Nortes, Reston, Sterno, Stoner, Trones, noters, sterno-, stoner, tenors, toners, trones

Source: Wiktionary

Ten"sor, n. Etym: [NL. See Tension.]

1. (Anat.)

Definition: A muscle that stretches a part, or renders it tense.

2. (Geom.)

Definition: The ratio of one vector to another in length, no regard being had to the direction of the two vectors; -- so called because considered as a stretching factor in changing one vector into another. See Versor.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition