What is an Eigenvalue and an Eigenvector?
In: Mathematics
Here’s an actual ELI5.
A matrix is a fancy way of describing the change in shape of something.
Now, imagine you take some blob of Play-Doh, and you squish it with your flat hands. Most parts of the Play-Doh go into all kinds of weird directions, left, right, up, down, you name it. However, there will be one specific direction along which the Play-Doh particles along that line are simply pushed out further along that line.
That special direction is the eigenvector, and the amount (i.e. the factor) by which the stretch happens along that direction is the eigenvalue. Both of them together uniquely describe the way you squished the Play-Doh, and that’s why they’re interesting to know.
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