Functions 

in real world mostly depends on many parameters.

e.g: Temperature is a function of several parameters such as Time, Latitude,

Longitude, Altitude etc.

Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) used to model this type of functions with

many factors very precisely. Suppose if we want to deal with temperature vary
with accordance to time, i.e how likely the temperature vary with respect to time,
we take derivative w. r. t time by keeping other parameters as constants (lat, lag,
etc). Similarly if we want temperature with respect to altitude, we take derivative
with respect to altitude by keeping time as constant.

PDEs are the most beautiful equations in mathematics. They are the core topics in
multi-variable calculus. They are used to describe the evolution of gases in fluid
dynamics, formation of galaxies, describing the nature of quantum mechanics
(Schrodinger’s Equations) and so on ….

This is the famous PDEs for Heat Equation :-

∂T/∂t = c △T = ∂/∂x (c ∂T/∂x) Where ‘T’ =Temperature, ‘t’=time, ‘x’=position

Fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and electromagnetic theory are all
modeled by partial differential equations and all have plenty of real life
applications.

For example,

 Fluid mechanics is used to understand how the circulatory system

works, how to get rockets and planes to fly, and even to some extent how
the weather behaves.
 Heat and mass transfer is used to understand how drug delivery devices
work, how kidney dialysis works, and how to control heat for temperatute-
sensitive things. It probably also explains why thermoses work!
 Electromagnetism is used for all electricity out there, and everything
that involves light at all, from X rays to pulse oximetry and laser pointers.

You can certainly weakly understand these things to an extent without partial
differential equations(PDEs), but understanding the partial differential equations
allows a much better understanding and much broader applications (since the PDEs
generalize the concepts across time and space more than the non-PDE
simplifications).
And that is probably very far off from a comprehensive list of applications.

Partial differential equations are used to mathematically formulate, and thus aid
the solution of, physical and other problems involving functions of several
variables, such as the propagation of heat or sound, fluid flow, waves, elasticity,
electrodynamics, etc. 

In mathematics, an equation termed as a partial differential equation (PDE) if and

only if equation contains unknown multivariable functions and its partial
derivatives too. Most important applications of these equations arise in finding the
solutions of boundary value problems in the theory of PDEs of the second order.
Few most famous PDEs (linear) come as elliptic type, specifically, to the Laplace,
Poisson, and Helmholtz equations wherein lie the most interesting and important
achievements of the theory of PDEs.

Suppose in Palmetto Bay, it is storming quite a bit. The PDEs that describe
weather systems predicted that we would have heavy rain starting about when the
deluge came, and that convinced me not to go biking this afternoon like I had
planned. Given the sheets of rain coming down, I am very thankful that we
understand those PDEs well enough to tell residents not to go for a long bike ride
or run on days where localized heavy rain is probable.

Give me a partial differential equation, and I give you the whole world…This is
of course exaggerated, but they are highly important for understanding the world.

The reason for this is that partial differential equations are the equations of physics.
Every fundamental theory of nature we have found so far can be described by a set
of partial differential equations. So the description of our world lies in the solutions
of such equations. We have

 Einstein’s equations in general relativity

 Schrödinger’s equation in quantum mechanics
 Dirac’s equation for relativistic fermions
 ...and many effective equations like the Navier-Stokes-equation for
fluids
A practical example. Go mountain climbing. Bring a compass.

Stand somewhere on the mountain. Let's choose our x-axis to run east west, our y-
axis to run north south. The function will be the altitude at any given point on the
mountain.

Take the partial derivative against x. This gives you the steepness of the slope in
the east-west direction.

Take the partial derivative against y. This gives you the steepness of the slope in
the north south direction.

Take the second derivative against x. This tells you whether the slope is getting
steeper or more horizontal if you were to walk east-west.

Take the second derivative against y. This tells you whether the slope is getting
steeper or more horizontal if you were to walk north-south.

Suppose you want to figure out the orbit of a satellite based on observations. You
may have photographs showing a dot of light against background stars, taken at
certain times from certain locations, or other measurements like that.

You may also have some estimate of the orbit. How do you refine the orbit based
on new information?

The general technique is called a Kalman Filter, which is the optimum way to
modify a prediction based on observations, when the observations may be noisy.

In the middle of the Kalman filter there is a matrix object called a Jacobian, which
is the matrix of first order partial derivatives of a vector valued function with
respect to its parameters.

Kalman filters are used all over the place, for example in guidance systems, and in
finding the path of an autonomous vehicle from sensor data.

Many physical phenomena are most fundamentally described by partial

differential equations. Usually, analysis starts with them. If you have a partial
differential equation instead of an ordinary differential equation, you have more
than one independent variable. For example, a problem that only depends on one
independent variable xx will be an ordinary differential equation. A problem that
depends on two independent variables xx and yy will be a partial differential
equation.
Numerical solutions and simulations. One reason computers are so useful is that
they solve problems that do not have an analytical solution or where it is difficult
to find one. The world around us is governed by differential equations, so any
scientific computing will generally rely on a differential equation and its numerical
solution. For example, take the Lorenz or Duffing differential equations. Neither
one has an analytical solution. However, using a basic Euler numerical integration
method, a solution accurate to the order of the time step used can be obtained.
Further, consider any car, train, or plane you have ever rode in. Engineers designed
it using finite element analysis (FEA) to make sure it can handle stresses
encountered in even extreme use-cases. FEA is essentially utilizing a computer to
model the stresses by solving a partial differential equation across a body
numerically, and is now extensively used in other multi-physics problems.

Electrical models of linear partial differential equations may serve several

practical purposes:

1. If the networks are physically constructed, they actually may solve the equations
within an accuracy of, say, one to five per cent, which is acceptable in many
engineering applications.

2. If the networks are constructed only on paper, they supply a visualizable

schedule of operations for the numerical solution of the equations or for the
improvement of the results found by the network analyzer or by other methods.

3. The networks may serve to check the accuracy and self-consistency of results
arrived at by other methods, approximate or exact.

4. In many problems where the fields have boundaries of unusual shape, or where
both fields and circuits are present and mutually are influencing each other, it is
next to impossible to formulate the problem mathematically. In such cases the
electrical model representation offers a practical means for formulating and solving
the problem.
A differential equation is an equation involving derivatives of an unknown
function and possibly the function itself as well as the independent variables.

Unlike the elementary mathematics concepts of addition, subtraction, division,

multiplication, percentage, etc, which are used on a day to day basis, differential
equations are not generally used/observed in our everyday life.

Differential equations have a remarkable ability to predict the world around us.
They are used in a wide variety of disciplines, from biology, economics, physics,
chemistry, and engineering. They can describe exponential growth and decay, the
population growth of species or the change in investment return over time.

Having said that, I have compiled a list of applications of differential equations. I

knew some of them and some of them were googled.

One of the most basic examples of differential equations is the Malthusian Law of
population growth. dp/dt = rp shows how the population (p) changes with respect
to time. The constant r will change depending on the species. Malthus used this
law to predict how a species would grow over time.

Some other uses of differential equations include:

1. In medicine for modeling cancer growth or the spread of disease

2. In engineering for describing the movement of electricity
3. In chemistry for modeling chemical reactions and to computer
radioactive half-life
4. In economics to find optimum investment strategies
5. In physics to describe the motion of waves, pendulums or chaotic
systems. It is also used in physics with Newton's Second Law of Motion
and the Law of Cooling.
6. In Hooke's Law for modeling the motion of a spring or in representing
models for population growth and money flow/circulation.
As you can see from the above examples, unless you are a physicist or a chemist or
a biologist or an actuary or an electrical/electronics engineer, chances are that you
might not get a chance to use differential equations.

https://www.academia.edu/19167167/Partial_Differential_Equations_for_Engineer
ing_Application_of_Partial_Differential_Equations_boundary_value_problems