The Euler formula, sometimes also called the Euler identity (e.g., Trott 2004, p. 174), states
|
(1) |
where i is the imaginary unit. Note that Euler's polyhedral formula is sometimes also called the Euler formula, as is the Euler curvature formula. The equivalent expression
|
(2) |
had previously been published by Cotes (1714).
The special case of the formula with gives the beautiful identity
|
(3) |
an equation connecting the fundamental numbers i, pi, e, 1, and 0 (zero), the fundamental operations , , and exponentiation, the most important relation , and nothing else. Gauss is reported to have commented that if this formula was not immediately obvious, the reader would never be a first-class mathematician (Derbyshire 2004, p. 202).
The Euler formula can be demonstrated using a series expansion
|
(4) | |||
|
(5) | |||
|
(6) |
It can also be demonstrated using a complex integral. Let
|
(7) | |||
|
(8) | |||
|
(9) | |||
|
(10) | |||
|
(11) | |||
|
(12) |
so
A mathematical joke asks, "How many mathematicians does it take to change a light bulb?" and answers "" (which, of course, equals 1).
See also
de Moivre's Identity, Euler Identity, Polyhedral Formula
Explore with Wolfram|Alpha
References
Castellanos, D. "The Ubiquitous Pi. Part I." Math. Mag. 61, 67-98, 1988.Conway, J. H. and Guy, R. K. "Euler's Wonderful Relation." The Book of Numbers. New York: Springer-Verlag, pp. 254-256, 1996.Cotes, R. "Logometria." Philos. Trans. Roy. Soc. London 29, 5-45, 1714.Derbyshire, J. Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics. New York: Penguin, 2004.Euler, L. "De summis serierum reciprocarum ex potestatibus numerorum naturalium ortarum dissertatio altera." Miscellanea Berolinensia 7, 172-192, 1743.Euler, L. Introductio in Analysin Infinitorum, Vol. 1. Bosquet, Lucerne, Switzerland: p. 104, 1748.Hoffman, P. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdős and the Search for Mathematical Truth. New York: Hyperion, p. 212, 1998.Trott, M. The Mathematica GuideBook for Programming. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2004. http://www.mathematicaguidebooks.org/.
Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha
Cite this as:
Weisstein, Eric W. "Euler Formula." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/EulerFormula.html