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The logarithm is denoted "log b x" (pronounced as "the logarithm of x to base b", "the base-b logarithm of x", or most commonly "the log, base b, of x "). An equivalent and more succinct definition is that the function log b is the inverse function to the function x ↦ b x {\displaystyle x\mapsto b^{x}} .
The natural logarithm function, if considered as a real-valued function of a positive real variable, is the inverse function of the exponential function, leading to the identities: = + = Like all logarithms, the natural logarithm maps multiplication of positive numbers into addition: [ 5 ] ln ( x ⋅ y ) = ln x + ln y ...
The method of logarithms was publicly propounded for the first time by John Napier in 1614, in his book entitled Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio (Description of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms). [1] The book contains fifty-seven pages of explanatory matter and ninety pages of tables of trigonometric functions and their natural ...
A log–log plot of y = x (blue), y = x 2 (green), and y = x 3 (red). Note the logarithmic scale markings on each of the axes, and that the log x and log y axes (where the logarithms are 0) are where x and y themselves are 1. Comparison of linear, concave, and convex functions when plotted using a linear scale (left) or a log scale (right).
ln(r) is the standard natural logarithm of the real number r. Arg(z) is the principal value of the arg function; its value is restricted to (−π, π]. It can be computed using Arg(x + iy) = atan2(y, x). Log(z) is the principal value of the complex logarithm function and has imaginary part in the range (−π, π].
An important property of base-10 logarithms, which makes them so useful in calculations, is that the logarithm of numbers greater than 1 that differ by a factor of a power of 10 all have the same fractional part. The fractional part is known as the mantissa. [b] Thus, log tables need only show the fractional part. Tables of common logarithms ...
The logarithm in the table, however, is of that sine value divided by 10,000,000. [1]: p. 19 The logarithm is again presented as an integer with an implied denominator of 10,000,000. The table consists of 45 pairs of facing pages. Each pair is labeled at the top with an angle, from 0 to 44 degrees, and at the bottom from 90 to 45 degrees.
Euler frequently used the logarithmic functions as a tool in analysis problems, and discovered new ways by which they could be used. He discovered ways to express various logarithmic functions in terms of power series, and successfully defined logarithms for complex and negative numbers, thus greatly expanding the scope where logarithms could ...