The Control of Error in Numerical Methods

Differential equations are types of equations that arise from the mathematical modelling, or simulation, of physical phenomena or from engineering applications; for example: the flow of water, the decay of radioactive substances, bodies in motion, electrical circuits, chemical processes, etc. When we cannot solve differential equations analytically, we must resort to numerical methods. Unfortunately, numerical methods do not give us an exact solution, and an amount of error is introduced in the answer. It is our goal to utilize concepts from Control Theory in order to minimize this error. For our study, we shall focus on ordinary differential equations (ODEs).