Ravier Gardon

Importance and Use of Logarithms

Logirithms are used mainly to simplify calculations. The logarithm (or log) of a number to a given base is the power to which the base must be raised in order to produce that number. Logs were used (Logarithm tables) to perform calculations must faster until they were replaced by calculators. It can be used in many different ways for example in tax collection. The inventor of logarithms, John Napier, invented logarithms because he wanted to help his father who is a tax collector. In money matters that involved exponential increase or decrease, logs will be very useful. Like for example, you want to calculate when will your interest will reach a certain level. Bankers find logs useful because it hastens the calculating time for exponential calculations like interests. It can also be used by Economists alike on calculating stocks and demands. In Science, logs can offer a handful of ways to help. In biology, Biologists use logs in calculating exponential decays. In chemistry, Chemists use logs in calculating chain reactions or even radioactive decays. Physicists use logs in calculating nuclear reactions. Astrophysicists alike use logs to calculate the expansion of the universe and even the gravity of black holes. In Engineering, logs can also be used for calculating equilibriums on buildings. Electrical engineers use it when calculating signal and electrical decays. It can also be used in the field of Computer Science where it is used in the development of Artificial Intelligence. Logs ease the burden for heaps and heaps of calculations done by calculators, while these calculators ease us on our own heaps of calculations. Effective calculating can make us function as effective as we can be without having to worry about big quantities of numbers to be calculated. With this, we can do a lot more things in a more colossal scale like tackling the most massive calculations in the Universe, or calculating the Universe itself- Every aspect of it, its expansion, the decay of matter, gravity and almost everything that we have discovered. If we are to advance faster into the future, we must do things fast as we can. And logs prove to be one of our basic tools in achieving this speed. Not only that you can get interests, decays, and almost all exponentials faster, you can get it easier and much more economical. Logs for me are of equal importance as like every other branch of mathematics. It pretty much compliments other branches of mathematics like Algebra and Calculus. Mathematics for me is a fortress. And a single crack on a fortress can shatter its invulnerability.