Euler-Mascheroni constant
Constante de Euler-Mascheroni
- Date
- 1734 · confidence high
- Place
- Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Credited to
- Leonhard Euler; Lorenzo Mascheroni computed more decimal digits in 1790
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
Euler introduced the constant that bears his name while studying the limiting difference between the harmonic series and the natural logarithm, a deep link between the discrete and the continuous; Mascheroni later extended its decimal calculation.
It remains unknown whether the constant is rational or irrational.
What it led to
- Recurrent appearance in number theory and mathematical analysis
- The open problem of whether it is rational or irrational