Anyone know anything interesting about the number e?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,268
126
Seashells are based on e


Edit
An example parametric formula I found.

x = 2*(1 - E^(u/(6*Pi)))*Cos*Cos[v/2]^2,
y = 2*(-1 + E^(u/(6*Pi)))*Cos[v/2]^2*Sin,
z = 1 - E^(u/(3*Pi)) - Sin[v] + E^(u/(6*Pi))*Sin[v]}

 

MrCodeDude

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
13,674
1
76
This is what I have:
What is e?
e is an irrational and transcendental number that?s digits go on to infinity. It is rumored that it got its name ?e? from Euler, who officially stated that e = 2.71828 (to 18 decimal places). e is used as a base of a logarithm to get natural log and is mainly used to compound continuous interest rates using the formula P = ert. e is the whole reason for natural logarithms.

History of e
In 1618, while Napier was working on logarithms, a table appeared giving the natural logs of various numbers. But at the time, no one knew of the number e, so this discovery was overlooked until 1647. Saint-Vincent calculated the relation between the area under the rectangular hyperbola yx = 1 and the logarithm. He discovered that the area under the rectangular hyperbola from 1 to e is equal to 1, however no one still understood completely about this discovery. Finally in 1683, Jacob Bernoulli was trying to compound continuous interest to infinity. Using the equation (1 + 1/N)n where n is infinity. He proved that the limit of e had to lie between 2 and 3. This was the first approximation of e?s value. In 1748, Euler published his works that showed that e = 1 + 1/1! + 1/2! + 1/3! + ? + 1/n until n approaches infinity and gave e the value of 2.7182818248459045235.

Uses of e
e is the base used to calculate the derivatives of exponential and logarithmic equations. Logarithms are used to solve exponential equations. If you were given 2x = 16, you would solve it by going log2 16 = x, where ?2? is the base of log. Loge (x) is natural log. e is to natural log what 10 is to log. e is also used to calculate continuous compound interest by using the formula, P = ert, where p is the total amount, r = the rate and t = time.

Useful facts about e ___
? eiπ = -1, where i is the √(-1)
? e2πi = 1, where i is the √(-1)
? The Derivative of ex is itself
? ln (x) = loge (x)
? ln (e) = 1