Newton's method as feedback system

This entry is inspired by the work by K. Kashima and Y. Yamamoto.


To obtain an approximated value of sqrt(a), one can use Newton's method:

with a given real x[0]. This can be easily implemented in computer programs such as MATLAB or SCILAB, but today I will represent this as a feedback system.

First, the iteration can be represented by

where σ denotes the shift operator

In control theory or signal processing, this operator is also denoted by z^-1. Next, the iteration is divided into two parts, φ and σ, that is,

Finally, this can be represented by the following block diagram:

Based on this, you can run simulation with XCOS in SCLAB (xcos file is here).

This is a "feedback system" for sqrt(2). You can change the initial value x[0] by double-clicking "1/z" block.  Also, if you want another square root, double-click the "Expression" block and change "2" in the numerator to another positive number. But, if you feel like wilding out, use a negative number instead. In this case, the sequence will not converge, but show some chaotic behavior. The following is the result for "-2."

Related entries:

The simplest way to solve "x=cos(x)"

Play with scientific calculator