It is known that f(
x) =
xp has an algebraic
antiderivative except in the case
p = –1 corresponding to the
quadrature of the hyperbola. The other cases are given by
Cavalieri's quadrature formula. Whereas quadrature of the parabola had been accomplished by
Archimedes in the third century BC (in
The Quadrature of the Parabola), the hyperbolic quadrature required the invention in 1647 of a new function:
Gregoire de Saint-Vincent addressed the problem of computing the areas bounded by a hyperbola. His findings led to the natural logarithm function, once called the
hyperbolic logarithm since it is obtained by integrating, or finding the area, under the hyperbola. Before 1748 and the publication of
Introduction to the Analysis of the Infinite, the natural logarithm was known in terms of the area of a hyperbolic sector.
Leonhard Euler changed that when he introduced
transcendental functions such as 10x. Euler identified
e as the value of
b producing a unit of area (under the hyperbola or in a hyperbolic sector in standard position). Then the natural logarithm could be recognized as the
inverse function to the transcendental
exponential function ex.
Proposition: Given 0 \int_a^b \frac{dx}{x} = \log b - \log a = \log \frac{b}{a}. In particular, for a hyperbolic sector in standard position (
a = 1), the area of the hyperbolic sector is log
b.
Standard sector Given a line of positive
slope m > 0,
y =
mx, and the main diagonal (
m = 1), the
standard hyperbolic sector is limited by
xy = 1, a standard rectangular hyperbola. The variable line intersects the hyperbola when 1/
x =
mx or
x =
m−1/2.
Corollary: The area of the standard sector is \log (m^{-1/2}) = - \frac{1}{2} \log m. The negative sign indicates orientation reversal for increasing logarithms and increasing slopes. ==Hyperbolic geometry==