Editing Differential (mathematics) (section)

{{Short description|Mathematical notion of infinitesimal difference}}
{{about|the mathematical notion derived from the historic concept of infinitesimal difference|other uses|Differential (disambiguation)}}
In [[mathematics]], '''differential''' refers to several related notions<ref>{{cite web
 | title       = Differential
 | url         = https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Differential.html
 | quote       = The word differential has several related meaning in mathematics. In the most common context, it means "related to derivatives." So, for example, the portion of calculus dealing with taking derivatives (i.e., differentiation), is known as differential calculus.<br>The word "differential" also has a more technical meaning in the theory of differential k-forms as a so-called one-form.
 | work        = Wolfram MathWorld
 | access-date = February 24, 2022
 }}
</ref> derived from the early days of [[calculus]], put on a rigorous footing, such as [[infinitesimal]] differences and the [[derivative]]s of functions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/differential|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103051034/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/differential|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2014|title=differential - Definition of differential in US English by Oxford Dictionaries|website=Oxford Dictionaries - English|access-date=13 April 2018}}</ref>

The term is used in various branches of mathematics such as [[calculus]], [[differential geometry]], [[algebraic geometry]] and [[algebraic topology]].