dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaSome Numerical Experiments on Round-off Error Growth in Finite Precision Numerical Computation
| Authors | Suvarna Fadnavis |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9807003 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9807003 |
Abstract
Finite precision computations using digital computers involve the following inherent errors: (1) Round-off error of finite precision computations (2) Binary computer arithmetic precludes exact number representation of traditional decimal system used in data input stage to the computer. Though the round-off error is as small as in the seventh decimal place (single precision) in the beginning, it can enter the mainstream computation within 50 iterations in iterative computations, such as that used in numerical integration schemes, for example, the commonly used fourth order Runge-Kutta method. Growth of round-off error in recursive vis-a-vis iterative computing is described in the text. In this paper several computational experiments are presented to demonstrate the rapid growth of round-off error in iterative computations.
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"abstract": "Finite precision computations using digital computers involve the following\ninherent errors: (1) Round-off error of finite precision computations (2)\nBinary computer arithmetic precludes exact number representation of traditional\ndecimal system used in data input stage to the computer. Though the round-off\nerror is as small as in the seventh decimal place (single precision) in the\nbeginning, it can enter the mainstream computation within 50 iterations in\niterative computations, such as that used in numerical integration schemes, for\nexample, the commonly used fourth order Runge-Kutta method. Growth of round-off\nerror in recursive vis-a-vis iterative computing is described in the text. In\nthis paper several computational experiments are presented to demonstrate the\nrapid growth of round-off error in iterative computations.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9807003",
"authors": [
"Suvarna Fadnavis"
],
"categories": [
"physics.comp-ph",
"physics.ao-ph"
],
"title": "Some Numerical Experiments on Round-off Error Growth in Finite Precision Numerical Computation",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9807003"
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