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Mercator Series

The Taylor Series for the Natural Logarithm

\begin{displaymath}
\ln(1+x)=x-{\textstyle{1\over 2}}x^2+{\textstyle{1\over 3}} x^3-\ldots
\end{displaymath}

which was found by Newton, but independently discovered and first published by Mercator in 1668.

See also Logarithmic Number, Natural Logarithm




© 1996-9 Eric W. Weisstein
1999-05-26