Concise and user-friendly, this college-level text assumes only a knowledge of basic calculus in its elementary and gradual development of tensor theory. The introductory approach bridges the gap between mere manipulation and a genuine understanding of an important aspect of both pure and applied mathematics.
Beginning with a consideration of coordinate transformations and mappings, the treatment examines loci in three-space, transformation of coordinates in space and differentiation, tensor algebra and analysis, and vector analysis and algebra. Additional topics include differentiation of vectors and tensors, scalar and vector fields, and integration of vectors. The concluding chapter employs tensor theory to develop the differential equations of geodesics on a surface in several different ways to illustrate further differential geometry.