# The Vector Algebra War: A Historical Perspective

@article{Chappell2015TheVA,
title={The Vector Algebra War: A Historical Perspective},
author={James M. Chappell and Azhar Iqbal and John Gideon Hartnett and Derek Abbott},
journal={IEEE Access},
year={2015},
volume={4},
pages={1997-2004}
}
• Published 29 August 2015
• Physics
• IEEE Access
There are a wide variety of different vector formalisms currently utilized in engineering and physics. For example, Gibbs' three-vectors, Minkowski four-vectors, complex spinors in quantum mechanics, and quaternions used to describe rigid body rotations and vectors defined in Clifford geometric algebra. With such a range of vector formalisms in use, it thus appears that there is as yet no general agreement on a vector formalism suitable for science as a whole. This is surprising, in that, one…
22 Citations

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