By Aedyn, 10th

What is e?

e, or Euler’s Number, is an irrational number, a constant, just like π! Euler’s number is defined as 2.718… The three
dots mean that the number goes on forever without a pattern, and never ends. But that begs the
question, what is it’s purpose? Well, e’s purpose is more complex than that of π. It has to do with continuously
compounding growth and decay and interest. Financers use it the most frequently. What’s really cool is the
formula for it.

Where n is any real number. What this fancy equation is saying is if you put any number in for n
in that equation, it gets closer and closer to e, but never reaches it on the graph. It never touches the green line. Go ahead, try it and see for yourself!

Watch this Numberphile video to learn more about e!