Hyperbolic sector
Encyclopedia
A hyperbolic sector is a region of the Cartesian plane {(x,y)} bounded by rays from the origin to two points (a, 1/a) and (b, 1/b) and by the hyperbola
Hyperbola
In mathematics a hyperbola is a curve, specifically a smooth curve that lies in a plane, which can be defined either by its geometric properties or by the kinds of equations for which it is the solution set. A hyperbola has two pieces, called connected components or branches, which are mirror...

 xy = 1.

A hyperbolic sector in standard position has a = 1 and b > 1 .

The area
Area
Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...

 of a hyperbolic sector in standard position is loge
Natural logarithm
The natural logarithm is the logarithm to the base e, where e is an irrational and transcendental constant approximately equal to 2.718281828...

 b .

Proof: Integrate under 1/x from 1 to b, add triangle {(0, 0), (1, 0), (1, 1)}, and subtract triangle {(0, 0), (b, 0), (b, 1/b)}.

When in standard position, a hyperbolic sector corresponds to a positive hyperbolic angle
Hyperbolic angle
In mathematics, a hyperbolic angle is a geometric figure that divides a hyperbola. The science of hyperbolic angle parallels the relation of an ordinary angle to a circle...

.

Hyperbolic logarithm

Students of integral calculus know that f(x) = xp has an algebraic antiderivative
Antiderivative
In calculus, an "anti-derivative", antiderivative, primitive integral or indefinite integralof a function f is a function F whose derivative is equal to f, i.e., F ′ = f...

 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
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Among his advances in physics are the foundations of hydrostatics, statics and an...

 in the 3rd century BC (The Quadrature of the Parabola
The Quadrature of the Parabola
The Quadrature of the Parabola is a treatise on geometry, written by Archimedes in the 3rd century BC. Written as a letter to his friend Dositheus, the work presents 24 propositions regarding parabolas, culminating in a proof that the area of a parabolic segment is 4/3 that of a certain inscribed...

), the hyperbolic quadrature required the invention of a new function: Gregoire de Saint-Vincent
Grégoire de Saint-Vincent
Grégoire de Saint-Vincent , a Jesuit, was a mathematician who discovered that the area under a rectangular hyperbola is the same over [a,b] as over [c,d] when a/b = c/d...

 addressed the problem of computing the area of a hyperbolic sector. His findings led to the natural logarithm
Natural logarithm
The natural logarithm is the logarithm to the base e, where e is an irrational and transcendental constant approximately equal to 2.718281828...

 function, once called the hyperbolic logarithm since it is obtained by integrating, or finding the area, under the hyperbola.

The natural logarithm is a transcendental function
Transcendental function
A transcendental function is a function that does not satisfy a polynomial equation whose coefficients are themselves polynomials, in contrast to an algebraic function, which does satisfy such an equation...

, an entity beyond the class of algebraic function
Algebraic function
In mathematics, an algebraic function is informally a function that satisfies a polynomial equation whose coefficients are themselves polynomials with rational coefficients. For example, an algebraic function in one variable x is a solution y for an equationwhere the coefficients ai are polynomial...

s. Evidently transcendental functions are necessary in integral calculus.
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