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The logarithm keys (LOG for base 10 and LN for base e) on a TI-83 Plus graphing calculator. Logarithms are easy to compute in some cases, such as log 10 (1000) = 3. In general, logarithms can be calculated using power series or the arithmetic–geometric mean, or be retrieved from a precalculated logarithm table that provides a fixed precision.
In c. 1622, William Oughtred combined two handheld Gunter rules to make a calculating device that was essentially the first slide rule. [9] The logarithm function became a staple of mathematical analysis, but printed tables of logarithms gradually diminished in importance in the twentieth century as multiplying mechanical calculators and, later ...
Logarithms can be used to make calculations easier. For example, two numbers can be multiplied just by using a logarithm table and adding. These are often known as logarithmic properties, which are documented in the table below. [2] The first three operations below assume that x = b c and/or y = b d, so that log b (x) = c and log b (y) = d.
Typical ten-inch (25 cm) student slide rule (Pickett N902-T simplex trig) A slide rule is a hand-operated mechanical calculator consisting of slidable rulers for evaluating mathematical operations such as multiplication, division, exponents, roots, logarithms, and trigonometry. It is one of the simplest analog computers. [1] [2]
A simple arithmetic calculator was first included with Windows 1.0. [5]In Windows 3.0, a scientific mode was added, which included exponents and roots, logarithms, factorial-based functions, trigonometry (supports radian, degree and gradians angles), base conversions (2, 8, 10, 16), logic operations, statistical functions such as single variable statistics and linear regression.
The definition of e x as the exponential function allows defining b x for every positive real numbers b, in terms of exponential and logarithm function. Specifically, the fact that the natural logarithm ln( x ) is the inverse of the exponential function e x means that one has
The logarithm of a number to the base is the exponent to which must be raised to produce . For instance, since 1000 = 10 3 {\displaystyle 1000=10^{3}} , the logarithm base 10 of 1000 is 3.
He then called the logarithm, with this number as base, the natural logarithm. As noted by Howard Eves, "One of the anomalies in the history of mathematics is the fact that logarithms were discovered before exponents were in use." [16] Carl B. Boyer wrote, "Euler was among the first to treat logarithms as exponents, in the manner now so ...