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Euler's identity
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In mathematics, Euler's identity[n 1] (also known as Euler's

equation) is the equality

where

e is Euler's number, the base of natural logarithms,

i is the imaginary unit, which satisfies i2 = 1, and
is pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its
diameter.
The exponential function ez can be
Euler's identity is named after the Swiss mathematician Leonhard z
Euler. It is considered to be an example of mathematical beauty. defined as the limit of (1 + )N, as N
N
approaches infinity, and thus ei is the
i
limit of (1 + )N. In this animation
N
Contents N takes various increasing values from
1 to 100. The computation of
1 Explanation (1 + i
N
)N is displayed as the
2 Mathematical beauty
combined effect of N repeated
3 Generalizations
multiplications in the complex plane,
4 History
5 See also with the final point being the actual
i
6 Notes value of (1 + )N. It can be seen that
N
7 References i
as N gets larger (1 + )N approaches
8 Sources N
9 External links a limit of 1.

Explanation
Euler's identity is a special case of Euler's formula from complex
analysis, which states that for any real number x,

where the inputs of the trigonometric functions sine and cosine are
given in radians.

In particular, when x = , or one half-turn (180) around a circle:

Since
Euler's formula for a general angle

and

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Euler's identity - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity

it follows that

which yields Euler's identity:

Mathematical beauty
Euler's identity is often cited as an example of deep mathematical beauty.[3] Three of the basic arithmetic
operations occur exactly once each: addition, multiplication, and exponentiation. The identity also links five
fundamental mathematical constants:[4]

The number 0, the additive identity.

The number 1, the multiplicative identity.
The number , which is ubiquitous in the geometry of Euclidean space and analytical mathematics (
= 3.141...)
The number e, the base of natural logarithms, which occurs widely in mathematical analysis (e =
2.718...).
The number i, the imaginary unit of the complex numbers, a field of numbers that contains the roots
of all polynomials (that are not constants), and whose study leads to deeper insights into many areas of
algebra and calculus.

Furthermore, the equation is given in the form of an expression set equal to zero, which is common practice
in several areas of mathematics.

Stanford University mathematics professor Keith Devlin has said, "like a Shakespearean sonnet that captures
the very essence of love, or a painting that brings out the beauty of the human form that is far more than just
skin deep, Euler's equation reaches down into the very depths of existence".[5] And Paul Nahin, a professor
emeritus at the University of New Hampshire, who has written a book dedicated to Euler's formula and its
applications in Fourier analysis, describes Euler's identity as being "of exquisite beauty".[6]

The mathematics writer Constance Reid has opined that Euler's identity is "the most famous formula in all
mathematics".[7] And Benjamin Peirce, a noted American 19th-century philosopher, mathematician, and
professor at Harvard University, after proving Euler's identity during a lecture, stated that the identity "is
absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it,
and therefore we know it must be the truth".[8]

A poll of readers conducted by The Mathematical Intelligencer in 1990 named Euler's identity as the "most
beautiful theorem in mathematics".[9] In another poll of readers that was conducted by Physics World in
2004, Euler's identity tied with Maxwell's equations (of electromagnetism) as the "greatest equation
ever".[10]

A study of the brains of sixteen mathematicians found that the "emotional brain" (specifically, the medial
orbitofrontal cortex, which lights up for beautiful music, poetry, pictures, etc.) lit up more consistently for
Euler's identity than for any other formula.[11]

Generalizations

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Euler's identity - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity

Euler's identity is also a special case of the more general identity that the nth roots of unity, for n > 1, add
up to 0:

Euler's identity is the case where n = 2.

In another field of mathematics, by using quaternion exponentiation, one can show that a similar identity
also applies to quaternions. Let {i, j, k} be the basis elements, then,

In general, given real a1, a2, and a3 such that a12 + a22 + a32 = 1, then,

For octonions, with real an such that a12 + a22 + ... + a72 = 1 and the octonion basis elements
{i1, i2,... i7}, then,

History
It has been claimed that Euler's identity appears in his monumental work of mathematical analysis published
in 1748, Introductio in analysin infinitorum.[12] However, it is questionable whether this particular concept
can be attributed to Euler himself, as he may never have expressed it.[13] (Moreover, while Euler did write in
the Introductio about what we today call "Euler's formula",[14] which relates e with cosine and sine terms in
the field of complex numbers, the English mathematician Roger Cotes also knew of this formula and Euler
may have acquired the knowledge through his Swiss compatriot Johann Bernoulli.[13])

See also
De Moivre's formula
Exponential function
Gelfond's constant

Notes
1. The term "Euler's identity" (or "Euler identity") is also used elsewhere to refer to other concepts, including the
related general formula eix = cos x + i sin x,[1] and the Euler product formula.[2]

References
1. Dunham, 1999, p. xxiv (https://books.google.com/books?id=uKOVNvGOkhQC&pg=PR24).
2. Stepanov, S. A. (7 February 2011). "Euler identity". Encyclopedia of Mathematics. Retrieved 18 February
2014.
3. Gallagher, James (13 February 2014). "Mathematics: Why the brain sees maths as beauty". BBC News Online.
Retrieved 18 May 2015.

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Euler's identity - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_identity

4. Paulos, p. 117.
5. Nahin, 2006, p. 1 (https://books.google.com/books?id=GvSg5HQ7WPcC&pg=PA1).
6. Nahin, 2006, p. xxxii.
7. Reid, chapter e.
8. Maor, p. 160 (https://books.google.com/books?id=eIsyLD_bDKkC&pg=PA160) and Kasner & Newman, pp.
103104 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad8hAx-6m9oC&pg=PA103).
9. Nahin, 2006, pp. 23 (https://books.google.com/books?id=GvSg5HQ7WPcC&pg=PA2) (poll published in the
summer 1990 issue of the magazine).
10. Crease, 2004.
11. Zeki et al.
12. Conway & Guy, pp. 254255.
13. Sandifer, p. 4.
14. Euler, p. 147.

Sources
Conway, John Horton, and Guy, Richard (1996). The Book of Numbers (https://books.google.com
/books?id=0--3rcO7dMYC&pg=PA254) (Springer, 1996). ISBN 978-0-387-97993-9.
Crease, Robert P., "The greatest equations ever (http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/17/10/2)",
PhysicsWeb, October 2004 (registration required).
Crease, Robert P. "Equations as icons (http://physicsweb.org/articles/world/20/3/3/1)," PhysicsWeb,
March 2007 (registration required).
Derbyshire, J. Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in
Mathematics (New York: Penguin, 2004).
Dunham, William (1999). Euler: The Master of Us All. Mathematical Association of America. ISBN
978-0-88385-328-3.
Euler, Leonhard. Leonhardi Euleri opera omnia. 1, Opera mathematica. Volumen VIII, Leonhardi
Euleri introductio in analysin infinitorum. Tomus primus (http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148
/bpt6k69587.image.r=%22has+celeberrimas+formulas%22.f169.langEN) (Leipzig: B. G. Teubneri,
1922).
Kasner, E., and Newman, J., Mathematics and the Imagination (Simon & Schuster, 1940).
Maor, Eli, e: The Story of a number (Princeton University Press, 1998). ISBN 0-691-05854-7
Nahin, Paul J., Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula: Cures Many Mathematical Ills (Princeton University
Press, 2006). ISBN 978-0-691-11822-2
Paulos, John Allen, Beyond Numeracy: An Uncommon Dictionary of Mathematics (Penguin Books,
1992). ISBN 0-14-014574-5
Reid, Constance, From Zero to Infinity (Mathematical Association of America, various editions).
Sandifer, C. Edward. Euler's Greatest Hits (https://books.google.com/books?id=sohHs7ExOsYC&
pg=PA4) (Mathematical Association of America, 2007). ISBN 978-0-88385-563-8
Zeki, S.; Romaya1, J. P.; Benincasa, D. M. T.; Atiyah, M. F. (2014), "The experience of mathematical
beauty and its neural correlates", Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8,
doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00068.

External links
Complete derivation of Euler's identity
Wikiquote has quotations
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGDNUDQCc4)
related to: Euler's identity
Intuitive understanding of Euler's formula
(http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-understanding-
of-eulers-formula/)

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Categories: Exponentials Mathematical identities E (mathematical constant)

Theorems in complex analysis

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