A finite element method for the general solution of ordinary differential equations

A finite element method is developed by which it is possible to obtain the general solution of an ordinary differential equation directly. The procedure consists of approximating the differential equation with a rectangular matrix equation and of solving the latter equation by using generalized matrix inversion. It is shown in the paper that the homogeneous and inhomogeneous solutions of the two systems correspond and that the approximate solutions produced form the complete general solution of the original differential equation.