12.

The Euler Number

1 x1
Find lim 1  1 x
x and lim 1  x .
xv. xv.

A modern approach is to use LHopitals rule, but Drrie avoids using any Calculus.
This solution shows a little more, namely that
x1
ox
x
Ix  1  1x  e  1  1x 
1 x1
for all x  0 and that lim
xv.
1 
1 x
x  e  lim
xv.
1  x .

Our starting point is the exponential inequality

x / t 1  /x " 1
for all x  0 and 0  /  1 (with equality only when x  1) from No. 10. Let a  b  0. With
b
x  1  1b and /  ba , the exponential inequality reads 1  1b a  1  1a or
b a
1 1  1  1a ,
b
b1
b1
and with x  1 " 1
b1
and /  a1
, it reads 1 " 1
b1
a1
 1" 1
a1
or
b1 

b a a 1
b1 a1
, and reciprocally
b1 a1
1 1  1  1a .
b
Thus we have the following remarkable

Theorem The function Ix  1  1x is an increasing function of x, and the function

x

ox  1  1x x1 is a decreasing function of x.

Since ox  1  1x Ix , it follows that ox  Ix . If x 1  x 2 , then
Ix 1  Ix 2  ox 2 and Ix 2  ox 2  ox 1 , i.e., every value of o is greater than
every value of I. This can also be seen from the graphs of 1  1x
x

1
 5
y
4

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
x

y  Ix bottom and y  ox top.

Note that It  o1  4 for all t u 1. It follows that the sequence In .n1 converges to
some number e t 4. Similarly on .n1 converges to some value (which is at least 2. )
Since ot " It  t t 4t , these limit values are the same number e, the Euler number.
It

The proposal to designate this number, which also is the base for natural logarithms, by e,
originated with Euler (Commentarii Academiae Petropolitanae ad annum 1739, vol. IX).
x1
If x  1, 000, 000, the inequality 1  1x  e  1  1x becomes
x

2. 718280  e  2. 718283. However, a series for e (see No. 13) is a better way to
approximate e X 2. 718 281 828 459045. The desired limits are

x x1
lim
xv.
1  1x  e and lim
xv.
1  1x  e,

the first of which is an upper limit, while the second is a lower limit.

1 x1
Note 1. Drrie argues from the inequalities 1  1 x
x  e  1  x that

et u 1  t

for all real t with equality only at t  0. This is perhaps easier to see with Calculus:
d
dt
e t " 1 " t  e t " 1  0 for t  0,  0 for t  0, and  0 for t  0. It follows that
e " 1 " t has a minimum value of 0 at t  0, i.e., e t u 1  t for all t with equality only at
t

t  0.
Note 2. Let x be any real number, and n a positive number such that 1 o x
n  0. Then by
Note 1.,
"x
e n  1  nx and e n  1 " nx .
x

Multiply the second inequality by 1  x

n and then raise both inequalities to the n th

2
power to get
2 n
1  nx and 1  nx
n n "x
ex  e  1 " x2 .
n
By the exponential inequality (from No. 10)
n
1 " nx 2  1  n 1 " 1 " nx 2  1 " xn , and it follows that 1  x n "x
 1"
2 2 2 x2
n e n
or
2
1  nx
n
 1 " xn e x .
Thus
2
1 " xn e x  1  nx
n
 ex.
Since lim
nv.
1" x2
n e x  e x , we conclude that
1  nx
n
lim
nv.
 ex.