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[1] [2] The terms mathematical constant or physical constant are sometimes used to distinguish this meaning. [3] A function whose value remains unchanged (i.e., a constant function). [4] Such a constant is commonly represented by a variable which does not depend on the main variable(s) in question.
A mathematical constant is a key number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition, often referred to by a symbol (e.g., an alphabet letter), or by mathematicians' names to facilitate using it across multiple mathematical problems. [1] For example, the constant π may be defined as the ratio of the length of a circle's circumference to ...
The constant π (pi) has a natural definition in Euclidean geometry as the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle. It may be found in many other places in mathematics: for example, the Gaussian integral, the complex roots of unity, and Cauchy distributions in probability. However, its ubiquity is not limited to pure mathematics.
For example, the atomic mass constant is exactly known when expressed using the dalton (its value is exactly 1 Da), but the kilogram is not exactly known when using these units, the opposite of when expressing the same quantities using the kilogram.
An example of a constant function is y(x) = 4, because the value of y(x) is 4 regardless of the input value x. As a real-valued function of a real-valued argument, a constant function has the general form y(x) = c or just y = c. For example, the function y(x) = 4 is the specific constant function where the output value is c = 4.
The number e is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that is the base of the natural logarithm and exponential function.It is sometimes called Euler's number, after the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, though this can invite confusion with Euler numbers, or with Euler's constant, a different constant typically denoted .
Physical constant, a physical quantity generally believed to be universal and unchanging; Constant (computer programming), a value that, unlike a variable, cannot be reassociated with a different value; Logical constant, a symbol in symbolic logic that has the same meaning in all models, such as the symbol "=" for "equals"
The mathematical constant e can be represented in a variety of ways as a real number.Since e is an irrational number (see proof that e is irrational), it cannot be represented as the quotient of two integers, but it can be represented as a continued fraction.