What is the real notion/feel of a tensor quantity? I have been just introduced to the term tensor while studying Rotational Dynamics, particularly about Inertia. But I just don't get a clear line separating vector from a tensor. What does someone mean when stating a particular physical quantity as a tensor quantity?
How to understand the definition of vector and tensor? Physics texts like to define vector as something that transform like a vector and tensor as something that transform like a tensor, which is different from the definition in math books. I am having difficulty understanding this kind of definition. To me, it goes like this:   First we have a collection of bases or coordinate systems (do these represent reference frames?) and the transformations between them. A vector/tensor is an assignment of an array of numbers to each basis, and these arrays are related to each other by coordinate transformations.   I am wondering how coordinate systems and transformations are specified.    Do we need all possible coordinate systems and transformations to define a vector space or just a few of them? How to define the concept of basis and coordinate transformation without completing the very notion of vector?
What does "period" mean when someone says "Sth... Period"? I often hear US citizens say something like this:     &lt;Some phrases>. Period.   What does period mean when it appears in a sentence by itself in this type of situation?