Editing Superposition principle (section)

==Other example applications==
* In [[electrical engineering]], in a [[linear circuit]], the input (an applied time-varying voltage signal) is related to the output (a current or voltage anywhere in the circuit) by a linear transformation. Thus, a superposition (i.e., sum) of input signals will yield the superposition of the responses.
* In [[physics]], [[Maxwell's equations]] imply that the (possibly time-varying) distributions of [[electric charge|charges]] and [[electric current|currents]] are related to the [[electric field|electric]] and [[magnetic field]]s by a linear transformation. Thus, the superposition principle can be used to simplify the computation of fields that arise from a given charge and current distribution. The principle also applies to other linear differential equations arising in physics, such as the [[heat equation]].
* In [[engineering]], superposition is used to solve for beam and structure [[Deflection (engineering)|deflections]] of combined loads when the effects are linear (i.e., each load does not affect the results of the other loads, and the effect of each load does not significantly alter the geometry of the structural system).<ref>Mechanical Engineering Design, By Joseph Edward Shigley, Charles R. Mischke, Richard Gordon Budynas, Published 2004 McGraw-Hill Professional, p. 192 {{ISBN|0-07-252036-1}}</ref> Mode superposition method uses the natural frequencies and mode shapes to characterize the dynamic response of a linear structure.<ref>Finite Element Procedures, Bathe, K. J., Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1996, p. 785 {{ISBN|0-13-301458-4}}</ref>
* In [[hydrogeology]], the superposition principle is applied to the [[Drawdown (hydrology)|drawdown]] of two or more [[water well]]s pumping in an ideal [[aquifer]]. This principle is used in the [[analytic element method]] to develop analytical elements capable of being combined in a single model.
* In [[process control]], the superposition principle is used in [[model predictive control]].
* The superposition principle can be applied when small deviations from a known solution to a nonlinear system are analyzed by [[linearization]].