Ln
is the notation used in physics and engineering to denote
the logarithm to base e, also called the natural
logarithm, i.e.,
 |
The United States Department of Commerce recommends that the notation 
be used in this
way to refer to the natural logarithm (Taylor 1995, p. 33).
Unfortunately, mathematicians in the United States commonly use the symbol 
to refer to
the natural logarithm, as does TraditionalForm
typesetting in the Wolfram Language.
The use of 
for different purposes by different mathematical
communities causes considerable confusion, so extreme care is needed in determining
if the symbol 
found in the wild refers to 
or 
.
The natural logarithm is implemented in the Wolfram Language as Log[x], which is equivalent to Log[E, x].
Contact the MathWorld Team
ln