How to Calculate Differentials of Power Tower Functions?

mathelord
How Does One Find The Differentials Of Power Functions.
Examples Like A[x]^b[x]^c[x]^d[x]...
Where Those Are Functions Of X?
In Cases Where These Functions Are Power Towers Of Another Variable,what Happens?
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
First, you re-arrange the function:
Suppose the function is
u(x)^{b(x)^{...}}
Let w(x)=b(x)^{...}
The function rearanges to
u(x)^{w(x)}=e^{w(x)\ln{u(x)}}
By the chain rule, the derivative is
e^{w(x)\ln{u(x)}}\cdot \frac{d(w(x)\ln{u(x)})}{dx}
=u(x)^{w(x)}\cdot [\frac{w(x)u'(x)}{u(x)}+w'(x)\ln{u(x)}]
To find w'(x), just apply this method again.
 
LeonhardEuler said:
First, you re-arrange the function:
Suppose the function is
u(x)^{b(x)^{...}}
Let w(x)=b(x)^{...}
The function rearanges to
u(x)^{w(x)}=e^{w(x)\ln{u(x)}}
By the chain rule, the derivative is
e^{w(x)\ln{u(x)}}\cdot \frac{d(w(x)\ln{u(x)})}{dx}
=u(x)^{w(x)}\cdot [\frac{w(x)u'(x)}{u(x)}+w'(x)\ln{u(x)}]
To find w'(x), just apply this method again.

This is basically the same thing as Euler just said, but explained a bit differently.

You can use something called Logarithmic Differentiation. I'll show you an example:

y=a(x)^{b(x)}\implies\ln{y}=b(x)\ln{a(x)}

Now take the derivative of both sides and simplify:

\frac{1}{y}\frac{dy}{dx}=b'(x)\ln{a(x)}+\frac{b(x)a'(x)}{a(x)}\implies\frac{dy}{dx}=a(x)^{b(x)}\left(b'(x)\ln{a(x)}+\frac{b(x)a'(x)}{a(x)}\right)
 
you mis understood my question,i meant a function raised to another and then another continously till infinity
 
Then you let the exponent be another function, just like Euler said in his post. Then you can simplify a(x)b(x) using logarithmic differentiation.
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
Fermat's Last Theorem has long been one of the most famous mathematical problems, and is now one of the most famous theorems. It simply states that the equation $$ a^n+b^n=c^n $$ has no solutions with positive integers if ##n>2.## It was named after Pierre de Fermat (1607-1665). The problem itself stems from the book Arithmetica by Diophantus of Alexandria. It gained popularity because Fermat noted in his copy "Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et...
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'
I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...

Similar threads

Back
Top