discretizationn.
/dᵻˌskriːtʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, /ˌdɪskrᵻtʌɪˈzeɪʃn/, U.S. /dᵻˌskriˌtaɪˈzeɪʃən/, /ˌdɪskrədəˈzeɪʃən/ 1. Mathematics. The process of treating something as conceptually composed of separate parts; spec. representation by, or approximation by means of, discrete quantities. Also: an instance of this.The purpose of such a procedure is typically to make something more amenable to computation or mathematical manipulation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > discrete
discretization1952
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > particular qualities > discrete > process of making discrete
discretization1952
1952 Math. Mag. 26 71 A third direction is the study of methods appropriate for special systems, such as those which arise by the discretization of differential equations.
1968 H. M. Lieberstein Course in Numerical Anal. iv. 70 Ways of obtaining error bounds..from good approximations of discretizations.
1976 Physics Bull. Mar. 117/2 Note that at this point we have introduced a discretization of the time.
1979 Y. Ovchinnikov et al. in W. H. Banks Adv. in Printing Sci. Technol. viii. 120 Discretization and quantization of signals.
2006 T. B. L. Kirkwood et al. in E. J. Masoro & S. N. Austad Handbk. Biol. Aging xii. 351/2 The system may also be run in an approximate mode, based on a time-discretization of the process.
2. Astronomy. The fact of being or becoming composed of parts physically distinct (in space or time).
ΚΠ
1963 D. G. B. Edelen Possible Galactic Scale Discretization vii. 63 Hubble's surmise is all the more startling in view of the morass of data that had to be compared without the simplification that results from the present theory through the prediction of the discretization curves.
1986 A. Sandage in C. A. Norman et al. Stellar Populations (1987) 30 Its use does not imprint a fictional discretization on the Galaxy as claimed by the opponents of the ideas.
2012 M. D'Onofrio et al. Fifty Years of Quasars ii. 80 The epochs when quasars are created and ejected by galaxies are quantized... Further work is needed to understand why such discretization occurs.
Compounds
discretization error n. Mathematics error that results from treating a continuous function, process, etc., (with an infinite number of values) as a discontinuous one (with a finite and manageable number of values); an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > error
truncation error1952
discretization error1958
1958 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 12 312 The discretization error has the order of magnitude h2.
1972 Science 13 Oct. 157/1 Chief among these is truncation (discretization) error, caused by the coarseness of the grid.
2011 H. D. Baehr & K. Stephan Heat & Mass Transfer (ed. 3) ii. 196 The derivatives..are replaced by difference quotients, whereby a discretisation error has to be taken into account.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1952