Branch of mathematics concerned with relations or laws that remain valid regardless of the coordinate system used to specify the quantities.
Tensors, invented as an extension of vectors , are essential to the study of manifolds . Every vector is a tensor, but tensors are more general and not easily pictured as geometrical objects. A tensor can be thought of as an abstract object defined as a set of components (like geometric coordinates) that, under a transformation of coordinates, undergo a specific type of transformation. While tensors were explored before Albert Einstein , the success of his general theory of relativity led to their widespread exploration and use by mathematicians and physicists.