In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means the logarithm of a given number x is the exponent to which another fixed number, the base b, must be raised, to produce that number x. In the simplest case, the logarithm counts the number of occurrences of the same factor in repeated multiplication; e.g., since 1000 = 10 × 10 × 10 = 103, the "logarithm base 10" of 1000 is 3, or log10(1000) = 3. The logarithm of x to base b is denoted as logb(x), or without parentheses, logb x, or even without the explicit base, log x, when no confusion is possible, or when the base does not matter such as in big O notation.
More generally, exponentiation allows any positive real number as base to be raised to any real power, always producing a positive result, so logb(x) for any two positive real numbers b and x, where b is not equal to 1, is always a unique real number y. More explicitly, the defining relation between exponentiation and logarithm is:
log
b
(
x
)
=
y
{\displaystyle \log _{b}(x)=y\ }
exactly if
b
y
=
x
{\displaystyle \ b^{y}=x\ }
and
x
>
0
{\displaystyle \ x>0}
and
b
>
0
{\displaystyle \ b>0}
and
b
≠
1
{\displaystyle \ b\neq 1}
.For example, log2 64 = 6, as 26 = 64.
The logarithm base 10 (that is b = 10) is called the decimal or common logarithm and is commonly used in science and engineering. The natural logarithm has the number e (that is b ≈ 2.718) as its base; its use is widespread in mathematics and physics, because of its simpler integral and derivative. The binary logarithm uses base 2 (that is b = 2) and is frequently used in computer science. Logarithms are examples of concave functions.Logarithms were introduced by John Napier in 1614 as a means of simplifying calculations. They were rapidly adopted by navigators, scientists, engineers, surveyors and others to perform high-accuracy computations more easily. Using logarithm tables, tedious multi-digit multiplication steps can be replaced by table look-ups and simpler addition. This is possible because of the fact—important in its own right—that the logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms of the factors:
log
b
(
x
y
)
=
log
b
x
+
log
b
y
,
{\displaystyle \log _{b}(xy)=\log _{b}x+\log _{b}y,\,}
provided that b, x and y are all positive and b ≠ 1. The slide rule, also based on logarithms, allows quick calculations without tables, but at lower precision.
The present-day notion of logarithms comes from Leonhard Euler, who connected them to the exponential function in the 18th century, and who also introduced the letter e as the base of natural logarithms.Logarithmic scales reduce wide-ranging quantities to tiny scopes. For example, the decibel (dB) is a unit used to express ratio as logarithms, mostly for signal power and amplitude (of which sound pressure is a common example). In chemistry, pH is a logarithmic measure for the acidity of an aqueous solution. Logarithms are commonplace in scientific formulae, and in measurements of the complexity of algorithms and of geometric objects called fractals. They help to describe frequency ratios of musical intervals, appear in formulas counting prime numbers or approximating factorials, inform some models in psychophysics, and can aid in forensic accounting.
In the same way as the logarithm reverses exponentiation, the complex logarithm is the inverse function of the exponential function, whether applied to real numbers or complex numbers. The modular discrete logarithm is another variant; it has uses in public-key cryptography.