Name, _FOR TEN POINTS_, this mathematical branch which applies addition and multiplication to variables rather than numbers.
In physics, types of them include Lie and Clifford; they can be variously defined on groups, rings, and fields. Although originally described by Diophantus of Alexandria, their formal development was codified by the French mathematicians Viète and Descartes. The linear branch of this subject generalizes it to spaces of higher dimensions. Name, _FOR TEN POINTS_, this mathematical branch which applies addition and multiplication to variables rather than numbers.
In physics, types of them include Lie and Clifford; they can be variously defined on groups, rings, and fields.
{algebra}(s)