# File lib/backports/1.9.2/stdlib/matrix.rb, line 1678
  def *(x)
    case x
    when Numeric
      els = @elements.collect{|e| e * x}
      self.class.elements(els, false)
    when Matrix
      Matrix.column_vector(self) * x
    when Vector
      Vector.Raise ErrOperationNotDefined, "*", self.class, x.class
    else
      apply_through_coercion(x, __method__)
    end
  end