Natural logarithm

From Wiki @ Karl Jones dot com
Jump to: navigation, search

In mathematics, the natural logarithm of a number is its logarithm to the base of the mathematical constant e, where e is an irrational and transcendental approximately equal to 2.718281828459.

Description

The natural logarithm of x is generally written as ln x, loge x, or sometimes, if the base e is implicit, simply log x.

Parentheses are sometimes added for clarity, giving ln(x), loge(x) or log(x). This is done in particular when the argument to the logarithm is not a single symbol, to prevent ambiguity.

The natural logarithm of x is the power to which e would have to be raised to equal x. For example, ln(7.5) is 2.0149..., because e2.0149... = 7.5. The natural log of e itself, ln(e), is 1, because e1 = e, while the natural logarithm of 1, ln(1), is 0, since e0 = 1.


See also

External links