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Reference.org
Numerical dispersion
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Computational_mathematics/JRoX1lu0">computational mathematics</a>, numerical dispersion is a difficulty with computer simulations of continua (such as fluids) wherein the simulated medium exhibits a higher dispersivity than the true medium. This phenomenon can be particularly egregious when the system should not be dispersive at all, for example a fluid acquiring some spurious dispersion in a numerical model. It occurs whenever the <a href="/facts/Dispersion_relation/oo7RM5eg">dispersion relation</a> for the finite difference approximation is nonlinear. For these reasons, it is often seen as a <a href="/facts/Numerical_error/5x9tkosI">numerical error</a>. Numerical dispersion is often identified, linked and compared with <a href="/facts/Numerical_diffusion/P1yncze2">numerical diffusion</a>, another <a href="/facts/Artifact_(error)/et9onNmx">artifact</a> of similar origin. </p>