Why is it called “$e$”?
$begingroup$
So I'm sure you have all heard of the number $e$ which is approximately $2.71828...$ . But why is it called $e$? It isn't due to Leonhard Euler, since he didn't name the number after himself, the first letter of his last name being just a coincidence. So, why is it called $e$?
terminology exponential-function math-history
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
$endgroup$
|
show 3 more comments
$begingroup$
So I'm sure you have all heard of the number $e$ which is approximately $2.71828...$ . But why is it called $e$? It isn't due to Leonhard Euler, since he didn't name the number after himself, the first letter of his last name being just a coincidence. So, why is it called $e$?
terminology exponential-function math-history
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
$endgroup$
3
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
3
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
2
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30
|
show 3 more comments
$begingroup$
So I'm sure you have all heard of the number $e$ which is approximately $2.71828...$ . But why is it called $e$? It isn't due to Leonhard Euler, since he didn't name the number after himself, the first letter of his last name being just a coincidence. So, why is it called $e$?
terminology exponential-function math-history
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
$endgroup$
So I'm sure you have all heard of the number $e$ which is approximately $2.71828...$ . But why is it called $e$? It isn't due to Leonhard Euler, since he didn't name the number after himself, the first letter of his last name being just a coincidence. So, why is it called $e$?
terminology exponential-function math-history
terminology exponential-function math-history
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
edited Dec 2 '18 at 9:25
Asaf Karagila♦
302k32427757
302k32427757
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
asked Dec 1 '18 at 23:31
Xavier StantonXavier Stanton
311211
311211
3
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
3
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
2
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30
|
show 3 more comments
3
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
3
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
2
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30
3
3
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
3
3
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
2
2
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30
|
show 3 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
$begingroup$
The Earliest Uses of Symbols for Constants page mentions that Leibniz used the symbol $b$ in the 1690s, but Euler introduced $e$ in 1727. (D'Alambert used $a$ in the late 1740s; Melandri used $c$ in 1787.) A number of commentaries are listed (via sources on this page):
[Maor (1994) in "$e$: The Story of a Number"] Why did [Euler] choose the letter e? There is no general consensus. According to one view, Euler chose it because it is the first letter of the word exponential. More likely, the choice came to him naturally as the first "unused" letter of the alphabet, since the letters a, b, c, and d frequently appear elsewhere in mathematics. It seems unlikely that Euler chose the letter because it is the initial of his own name, as occasionally been suggested: he was an extremely modest man and often delayed publication of his own work so that a colleague or student of his would get due credit. In any event, his choice of the symbol e, like so many other symbols of his, became universally accepted.
[Ball (1960 or 1987)] It is probable that the choice of e for a particular base was determined by its being the vowel consecutive to a.
[Boyer (1989)] [This notation was] suggested perhaps by the first letter of the word "exponential."
[Wei-hwa Huang (1995)] I believe that e was not named because it was the first letter in Euler's name, but rather because he was using vowels for constants in a proof of his and e happened to be the second one.
[Olivier Gerard (1999)] The hypothesis made by my friend Etienne Delacroix de La Valette was that e was for "ein" (one in German) or "Einheit" (unity), which would be matching the sentence Euler uses to define it (whose logarithm is unity). As always, many explanations may be true at the same time.
See @PaulFrost's comment below, casting doubt on Gerard's (friend's) "ein/Einheit" hypothesis.
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
add a comment |
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$begingroup$
The Earliest Uses of Symbols for Constants page mentions that Leibniz used the symbol $b$ in the 1690s, but Euler introduced $e$ in 1727. (D'Alambert used $a$ in the late 1740s; Melandri used $c$ in 1787.) A number of commentaries are listed (via sources on this page):
[Maor (1994) in "$e$: The Story of a Number"] Why did [Euler] choose the letter e? There is no general consensus. According to one view, Euler chose it because it is the first letter of the word exponential. More likely, the choice came to him naturally as the first "unused" letter of the alphabet, since the letters a, b, c, and d frequently appear elsewhere in mathematics. It seems unlikely that Euler chose the letter because it is the initial of his own name, as occasionally been suggested: he was an extremely modest man and often delayed publication of his own work so that a colleague or student of his would get due credit. In any event, his choice of the symbol e, like so many other symbols of his, became universally accepted.
[Ball (1960 or 1987)] It is probable that the choice of e for a particular base was determined by its being the vowel consecutive to a.
[Boyer (1989)] [This notation was] suggested perhaps by the first letter of the word "exponential."
[Wei-hwa Huang (1995)] I believe that e was not named because it was the first letter in Euler's name, but rather because he was using vowels for constants in a proof of his and e happened to be the second one.
[Olivier Gerard (1999)] The hypothesis made by my friend Etienne Delacroix de La Valette was that e was for "ein" (one in German) or "Einheit" (unity), which would be matching the sentence Euler uses to define it (whose logarithm is unity). As always, many explanations may be true at the same time.
See @PaulFrost's comment below, casting doubt on Gerard's (friend's) "ein/Einheit" hypothesis.
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The Earliest Uses of Symbols for Constants page mentions that Leibniz used the symbol $b$ in the 1690s, but Euler introduced $e$ in 1727. (D'Alambert used $a$ in the late 1740s; Melandri used $c$ in 1787.) A number of commentaries are listed (via sources on this page):
[Maor (1994) in "$e$: The Story of a Number"] Why did [Euler] choose the letter e? There is no general consensus. According to one view, Euler chose it because it is the first letter of the word exponential. More likely, the choice came to him naturally as the first "unused" letter of the alphabet, since the letters a, b, c, and d frequently appear elsewhere in mathematics. It seems unlikely that Euler chose the letter because it is the initial of his own name, as occasionally been suggested: he was an extremely modest man and often delayed publication of his own work so that a colleague or student of his would get due credit. In any event, his choice of the symbol e, like so many other symbols of his, became universally accepted.
[Ball (1960 or 1987)] It is probable that the choice of e for a particular base was determined by its being the vowel consecutive to a.
[Boyer (1989)] [This notation was] suggested perhaps by the first letter of the word "exponential."
[Wei-hwa Huang (1995)] I believe that e was not named because it was the first letter in Euler's name, but rather because he was using vowels for constants in a proof of his and e happened to be the second one.
[Olivier Gerard (1999)] The hypothesis made by my friend Etienne Delacroix de La Valette was that e was for "ein" (one in German) or "Einheit" (unity), which would be matching the sentence Euler uses to define it (whose logarithm is unity). As always, many explanations may be true at the same time.
See @PaulFrost's comment below, casting doubt on Gerard's (friend's) "ein/Einheit" hypothesis.
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
$endgroup$
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
add a comment |
$begingroup$
The Earliest Uses of Symbols for Constants page mentions that Leibniz used the symbol $b$ in the 1690s, but Euler introduced $e$ in 1727. (D'Alambert used $a$ in the late 1740s; Melandri used $c$ in 1787.) A number of commentaries are listed (via sources on this page):
[Maor (1994) in "$e$: The Story of a Number"] Why did [Euler] choose the letter e? There is no general consensus. According to one view, Euler chose it because it is the first letter of the word exponential. More likely, the choice came to him naturally as the first "unused" letter of the alphabet, since the letters a, b, c, and d frequently appear elsewhere in mathematics. It seems unlikely that Euler chose the letter because it is the initial of his own name, as occasionally been suggested: he was an extremely modest man and often delayed publication of his own work so that a colleague or student of his would get due credit. In any event, his choice of the symbol e, like so many other symbols of his, became universally accepted.
[Ball (1960 or 1987)] It is probable that the choice of e for a particular base was determined by its being the vowel consecutive to a.
[Boyer (1989)] [This notation was] suggested perhaps by the first letter of the word "exponential."
[Wei-hwa Huang (1995)] I believe that e was not named because it was the first letter in Euler's name, but rather because he was using vowels for constants in a proof of his and e happened to be the second one.
[Olivier Gerard (1999)] The hypothesis made by my friend Etienne Delacroix de La Valette was that e was for "ein" (one in German) or "Einheit" (unity), which would be matching the sentence Euler uses to define it (whose logarithm is unity). As always, many explanations may be true at the same time.
See @PaulFrost's comment below, casting doubt on Gerard's (friend's) "ein/Einheit" hypothesis.
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
$endgroup$
The Earliest Uses of Symbols for Constants page mentions that Leibniz used the symbol $b$ in the 1690s, but Euler introduced $e$ in 1727. (D'Alambert used $a$ in the late 1740s; Melandri used $c$ in 1787.) A number of commentaries are listed (via sources on this page):
[Maor (1994) in "$e$: The Story of a Number"] Why did [Euler] choose the letter e? There is no general consensus. According to one view, Euler chose it because it is the first letter of the word exponential. More likely, the choice came to him naturally as the first "unused" letter of the alphabet, since the letters a, b, c, and d frequently appear elsewhere in mathematics. It seems unlikely that Euler chose the letter because it is the initial of his own name, as occasionally been suggested: he was an extremely modest man and often delayed publication of his own work so that a colleague or student of his would get due credit. In any event, his choice of the symbol e, like so many other symbols of his, became universally accepted.
[Ball (1960 or 1987)] It is probable that the choice of e for a particular base was determined by its being the vowel consecutive to a.
[Boyer (1989)] [This notation was] suggested perhaps by the first letter of the word "exponential."
[Wei-hwa Huang (1995)] I believe that e was not named because it was the first letter in Euler's name, but rather because he was using vowels for constants in a proof of his and e happened to be the second one.
[Olivier Gerard (1999)] The hypothesis made by my friend Etienne Delacroix de La Valette was that e was for "ein" (one in German) or "Einheit" (unity), which would be matching the sentence Euler uses to define it (whose logarithm is unity). As always, many explanations may be true at the same time.
See @PaulFrost's comment below, casting doubt on Gerard's (friend's) "ein/Einheit" hypothesis.
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
edited Dec 2 '18 at 13:51
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
answered Dec 2 '18 at 5:19
BlueBlue
47.7k870151
47.7k870151
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
add a comment |
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
1
1
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
$begingroup$
Olivier Gerard's explanation is not plausible.Euler wrote in Latin because at that time Latin was the language of science. When introducing e he used the word "unitas" (see my above comment), thus u would have been an evident choice. In my opinion any explanation will be purely speculative.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:45
add a comment |
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3
$begingroup$
Euler was the first to name the constant "$e$". The source doesn't say why but I'd guess that he was either naming it after himself or he'd already used the letters $a-d$ on other constants.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:35
$begingroup$
If anyone wants to translate Euler's latin text to find whether he says why he used $e$, that's a scan of it.
$endgroup$
– Jam
Dec 1 '18 at 23:38
$begingroup$
This page seems to suggest that his early papers already made use of $a$ and so $e$ was simply the first vowel in the alphabet that he wasn't already using. It also says (without providing a source) that in one of his original letters he used the letter $b$ to refer to his constant.
$endgroup$
– Hayden
Dec 1 '18 at 23:39
3
$begingroup$
You might get more attention on History of Science and Mathematics
$endgroup$
– quid♦
Dec 1 '18 at 23:40
2
$begingroup$
@Jam The Latin text does not say anything: "Scribatur pro numero cuius logarithmus est unitas, e, qui est 2,7182817 ...". Translation: "It is written for the number whose logarithm is 1, e, which is 2,7182817 ..." Before Euler introduces e, he introduces c, m, n, t, x. Here t stands for time, the other letters seem to be chosen arbitrarily, e.g. c for the diameter of a ball.
$endgroup$
– Paul Frost
Dec 2 '18 at 13:30