Stirling's approximation
Fórmula de Stirling
- Date
- 1730 · confidence high
- Place
- London, England, United Kingdom
- Credited to
- James Stirling; earlier form by Abraham de Moivre (1721)
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What was discovered
Stirling published in London in 1730, in his 'Methodus Differentialis', the formula that approximates the factorial of a large number using an expression with the constant √(2π), completing the form de Moivre had obtained in 1721 without pinning down that constant. It is a standard tool in combinatorics, statistical physics and algorithm complexity analysis.
Wikidata attributes this milestone to Abraham de Moivre, but it is James Stirling who pinned down the √(2π) constant and gives the formula its name; de Moivre is listed as a precursor.
What it led to
- Stirling series with successive correction terms
- Standard tool in statistical physics and algorithm analysis
Built on
- Abraham de Moivre's approximate form (1721)