>>12831716A 0.5 derivative is an operation that, when applied on a function twice, results in its first order derivative. Other orders are a generalization. It doesn't mean anything physically or geometrically, in spite of what mathfags may say. There's a branch of math that deals with fractional order derivatives, known as fractional calculus. Don't bother with it unless you're into pure math. It doesn't have any useful application. Some fuckers may try to convince you that it's useful to model diffusion in porous mediums or control theory or whatever. Don't listen to them. The applications are memes that don't actually help. It is perpetuated in academia purely due to circle jerking.
t. control theorist that wasted a lot of time studying "applications" of fractional calculus
