Mathematical Meaning of ‘e’

Commonly referred to as Euler's number after the Swiss mathematician

Leonhard Euler, the mathematical constant e is the unique real number
such that the value of the derivative of the function f(x) = ex at the point
x = 0 is equal to 1. The function ex so defined is called the exponential
function, and its inverse is the natural logarithm, or logarithm to base e.
The number e is also commonly defined as the base of the natural
logarithm, as the limit of a certain sequence, or as the sum of a certain
series.
The number e is of eminent importance in mathematics, alongside 0, 1, π
and i. Besides being abstract objects, all five of these numbers play
important and recurring roles across mathematics, and are the five
constants appearing in one formulation of Euler's identity.
The number e is irrational; it is not a ratio of integers. Furthermore, it is
transcendental; it is not a root of any non-zero polynomial with rational
coefficients. The numerical value of e truncated to 20 decimal places is
e = 2.71828182845904523536….
that is,
e = 1+1/1!+1/2!+1/3!+1/4!.................…
approximately equal to 2.718281828.

History
The first references to the constant were published in 1618 in the table of
an appendix of a work on logarithms by John Napier. However, this did
not contain the constant itself, but simply a list of natural logarithms
calculated from the constant. It is assumed that the table was written
by William Oughtred.
The "discovery" of the constant itself is credited to Jacob Bernoulli, who
attempted to find the value of the following expression (which is in
fact e):

e is NOT Just a Number

e is the base rate of growth shared by all continually growing
processes. e lets you take a simple growth rate (where all change
happens at the end of the year) and find the impact of compound,
continuous growth, where every nanosecond (or faster) you are growing
just a little bit.

e shows up whenever systems grow exponentially and continuously:

population, radioactive decay, interest calculations, and more. Even
jagged systems that don’t grow smoothly can be approximated by e.

Just like every number can be considered a “scaled” version of 1 (the

base unit), every circle can be considered a “scaled” version of the unit
circle (radius 1), and every rate of growth can be considered a “scaled”
version of e (the “unit” rate of growth).

So e is not an obscure, seemingly random number. e represents the idea

that all continually growing systems are scaled versions of a common
rate.

Natural Logarithm
The natural logarithm is the logarithm to the base e, where e is
an irrational constant approximately equal to 2.718281828. The natural
logarithm is generally written as ln(x), loge(x) or sometimes, if the base
of e is implicit, as simply log(x).
The natural logarithm of a number x (written as ln(x)) is the power to
which e would have to be raised to equal x. For example, ln(7.389...) is
2, because e2=7.389.... The natural log of e itself (ln(e)) is 1
because e1 = e, while the natural logarithm of 1 (ln(1)) is 0, since e0 = 1.
The natural logarithm function, if considered as a real-valued function of
a real variable, is the inverse function of the exponential function,
leading to the identities:

In Poisson Distribution formula the term e^(-λ) acts like a "normalizing

factor", that makes the sum of the probabilities equal to 1.

Significance of Math Symbol E in Mathematics

The math symbol e is a real number constant that has real significance in
mathematics. It appears in many kinds of mathematical problems, such
as:
• Problems involving growth or decay (including compound interest
problems).
• Problems of probability and some counting problems.
• Study of distribution of prime numbers.
• In calculus, wherever we have to deal with either logarithmic or
exponential functions.
• The Math symbol e also appears in Stirling's Formula for
approximating factorials.

Physical Meaning of Math Symbol E

The math symbol e is not just a mathematical convenience. It does have

physical meaning.It occurs naturally in situations where a quantity
increases at a rate proportional to its value, such as a bank account
producing interest, or a population increasing as its members reproduce.
The number e is related to the how much more money you will earn
under compound interest than you would under simple interest. t
Obviously, the quantity will increase more if the increase is based on the
total current quantity (including previous increases), than if it is only
based on the original quantity (with previous increases not counted).
How much more? The number e answers this question.

For example:

Question: If you would earn 100% interest (that means your money
would double) under simple interest, how much money would you end
up with under compound interest?

Answer: You would have e times your original amount.

Thus, the math symbol e is the factor by which a bank account earning
continually compounding interest (or a reproducing population whose
offspring are themselves capable of reproduction, or any similar quantity
that grows at a rate proportional to its current value) will increase, if,
without the compounding (or without the offspring being capable of
further reproduction) it would have doubled (increased by 100%).