In mathematics, finite element method (FEM) is a numerical technique for finding approximate solutions to boundary value problems. It uses variational methods (the Calculus of variations) to minimize an error function and produce a stable solution. Analogous to the idea that connecting many tiny straight lines can approximate a larger circle, FEM encompasses all the methods for connecting many simple element equations over many small subdomains, named finite elements, to approximate a more complex equation over a larger domain. Wikipedia, Finite Element Analysis
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