The process eliminates all the spatial derivatives from the Pde, thus approximating the Pde locally with a set
of algebraic equations for steady state problems, a set of ordinary differential equations for transient problems.
In applying FEA, the complex problem is usually a physical system with the underlying physics such as the
Euler-Bernoulli beam equation, the heat equation, or the Navier-Stokes equations expressed in either Pde or integral equations,
while the divided small elements of the complex problem represent different areas in the physical system.