Who was the Scottish mathematician, physicist and astronomer who is credited for introducing "natural" logarithmic function?
ec93d770fdf8417aec9019643dc83839
Napierian logarithm The term Napierian logarithm or Naperian logarithm, named after John Napier, is often used to mean the natural logarithm. Napier did not introduce this "natural" logarithmic function, although it is named after him. However, if it is taken to mean the "logarithms" as originally produced by Napier, it is a function given by (in terms of the modern logarithm):
9068188380d497a5afd9e507026bba12
John Napier John Napier of Merchiston ( ; 1 February, 1550 – 4 April 1617); also signed as Neper, Nepair; nicknamed Marvellous Merchiston) was a Scottish landowner known as a mathematician, physicist, and astronomer. He was the 8th Laird of Merchiston. His Latinized name was Ioannes Neper.
8caac19d6cfa2a886be5402989081682
John Millar (philosopher) John Millar of Glasgow (22 June 1735 – 30 May 1801) was a Scottish philosopher, historian and Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Glasgow from 1761 to 1800.
91c8f9d4d3e24208aa2f99ab5cb64d0b
Contributions of Leonhard Euler to mathematics The 18th-century Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707–1783) is among the most prolific and successful mathematicians in the history of the field. His seminal work had a profound impact in numerous areas of mathematics and he is widely credited for introducing and popularizing modern notation and terminology.
a8ec120302ac473706d9517448a9c758
Jean-Baptiste Biot Jean-Baptiste Biot (] ; 21 April 1774 – 3 February 1862) was a French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician who established the reality of meteorites, made an early balloon flight, and studied the polarization of light. The mineral biotite was named in his honor.
62251b6ed6b996ba5310a08f32cc328c
John Machin John Machin (bapt. c. 1686 – June 9, 1751), a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London, is best known for developing a quickly converging series for Pi in 1706 and using it to compute Pi to 100 decimal places.
4c51f86cf51770cdda72a5ef473fac49
Logarithmic scale A logarithmic scale is a nonlinear scale used when there is a large range of quantities. Common uses include earthquake strength, sound loudness, light intensity, and pH of solutions.
cb7c8c4a6c99d0c2f6d149dbdbf6207c
James Lighthill Sir Michael James Lighthill, {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (23 January 1924 – 17 July 1998) was a British applied mathematician, known for his pioneering work in the field of aeroacoustics.
816895b69454dce407efee7051f46b9b
Logarithmic derivative In mathematics, specifically in calculus and complex analysis, the logarithmic derivative of a function "f" is defined by the formula
43bd7f7c4ce67cbc16f3fb1db0b7249c
Polylogarithm In mathematics, the polylogarithm (also known as Jonquière's function, for Alfred Jonquière) is a special function Li("z") of order "s" and argument "z". Only for special values of "s" does the polylogarithm reduce to an elementary function such as the natural logarithm or rational functions. In quantum statistics, the polylogarithm function appears as the closed form of integrals of the Fermi–Dirac distribution and the Bose–Einstein distribution, and is also known as the Fermi–Dirac integral or the Bose–Einstein integral. In quantum electrodynamics, polylogarithms of positive integer order arise in the calculation of processes represented by higher-order Feynman diagrams.
760e02ef0da7fd95719d0412d0e53b36
Nicolas Fatio de Duillier Nicolas Fatio de Duillier {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} (also spelled Faccio or Facio; 16 February 1664 – 12 May 1753) was a Swiss-born mathematician, natural philosopher, and inventor. He spent much of his adult life in England and Holland. Fatio is known for his work on the zodiacal light problem in astronomy, for originating the "push" or "shadow" theory of gravitation, for his close association with both Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton, and for his role in the Newton v. Leibniz calculus controversy. He also invented and developed the first method for fabricating jewel bearings for mechanical watches and clocks.
0248d94db9312f304ff52c909f12c6c4
George Atwood George Atwood (October 1745, London – 11 July 1807, London) was an English mathematician who invented a machine for illustrating the effects of Newton's first law of motion. He was also a renowned chess player whose skill for recording many games of his own and of other players, including François-André Danican Philidor, the leading master of his time, left a valuable historical record for future generations.
4a797cc5f64bca952841313ce481156a
Sophie Germain Marie-Sophie Germain (] ; 1 April 1776 – 27 June 1831) was a French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. Despite initial opposition from her parents and difficulties presented by society, she gained education from books in her father's library including ones by Leonhard Euler and from correspondence with famous mathematicians such as Lagrange, Legendre, and Gauss. One of the pioneers of elasticity theory, she won the grand prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her essay on the subject. Her work on Fermat's Last Theorem provided a foundation for mathematicians exploring the subject for hundreds of years after. Because of prejudice against her sex, she was unable to make a career out of mathematics, but she worked independently throughout her life. Before her death Gauss had recommended that she be awarded an honorary degree, but that never occurred. At the centenary of her life, a street and a girls school were named after her. The Academy of Sciences established the Sophie Germain Prize in her honor.
0ac08d32cf472d9497c6cada851b1738
Alexander Christison Prof Alexander Christison FRSE (1753-1820) was a Scottish educator and mathematician of influence during the Scottish Enlightenment.
15765530b00e6e1f1714efca5db89af4
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage {'1': ", '2': ", '3': ", '4': "} ( ; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer.
bcbb6c34e2586d4b86b556c4f6300bb5
John Sturgeon Mackay John Sturgeon Mackay FRSE LLD (1843–1914) was a Scottish mathematician and academic author.
a84ad83c840db0be351673e2ab846590
William Nicol (geologist) William Nicol FRSE (18 April 1770 – 2 September 1851) was a Scottish geologist and physicist who invented the Nicol prism, the first device for obtaining plane-polarized light, in 1828.
d98f64ba7115de6d74e8a51b13d12836
William Lax William Lax {'1': ", '2': ", '3': 'FRS', '4': "} (1761 – 29 October 1836) was an English astronomer and mathematician who served as Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at the University of Cambridge for 41 years.
3c15a9ca1862bc722d0a4897792e5053
George Gibson (mathematician) Prof George Alexander Gibson FRSE LLD (1858–1930) was a Scottish mathematician and academic author.
cccaae8d98fd800004086047efb9d009
David Hume David Hume ( ; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, who is best known today for his highly influential system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism.
11dec47696f0a2406dc9b765ddedaab6
History of calculus Calculus, known in its early history as "infinitesimal calculus", is a mathematical discipline focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibniz independently discovered calculus in the mid-17th century. However, each inventor claimed the other stole his work in a bitter dispute that continued until the end of their lives.
13cacbeee4bbea55202ef5f2ddcbce07
Andrew Gray (physicist) Dr Andrew Gray {'1': ", '2': ", '3': 'FRS FRSE', '4': "} (2 July 1847 – 10 October 1925) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician.