- How does a computer/calculator compute logarithms? (zachartrand.github.io)
There are many functions on a scientific or graphing calculator that we are introduced to as high school students that, we are told, just work. You select the function, put in the value that you need to calculate, hit “=” or “ENTER”, and SHABAM! You have the correct answer to some arbitrary number of digits that you are ensured are all 100% accurate.
- Logarithm (Wikipedia)
In mathematics, the logarithm is the inverse function to exponentiation. That means that the logarithm of a number x to the base b is the exponent to which b must be raised to produce x. For example, since 1000 = 10^3, the logarithm base 10 of 1000 is 3, or log10 (1000) = 3. The logarithm of x to base b is denoted as logb (x), or without parentheses, logb x, or even without the explicit base, log x, when no confusion is possible, or when the base does not matter such as in big O notation.