Introduction to the Lambert W Function

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  • čas přidán 24. 06. 2020
  • In this video I introduce the Lambert W Function, and work to demystify it, as well as work through a few simple algebraic examples using it.
    For videos on how this connects to Wien's law, visit:
    • Wien's Law

Komentáře • 49

  • @full_legit191
    @full_legit191 Před 3 lety +49

    CZcams is lacking of this kind of content thanks you for sharing it

  • @jackingham3069
    @jackingham3069 Před 3 lety +46

    "I'll circle this cos I like circling stuff..."
    *Draws a square around it" :-D
    Great lecture! Thank you!

  • @johnmartinez2445
    @johnmartinez2445 Před 2 lety +8

    probably the sexiest explanation of the Lambert W function and its application. I don't usually comment, but you have done me such a service that I needed to comment!

  • @alphamega3306
    @alphamega3306 Před 3 lety +5

    Great explanation. I like how you make sense of it, rather than just throwing out a bunch of definitions.
    Also, it would be very useful if a link to the next video were in the description.

  • @wilsonjp23
    @wilsonjp23 Před rokem +1

    Dude... an amazing explanation. 2 mins into the video and I subbed!

  • @jamesmccamish3901
    @jamesmccamish3901 Před 9 měsíci +1

    Fantastic introduction, very helpful to me. Thank you.

  • @alijoueizadeh2896
    @alijoueizadeh2896 Před 3 měsíci

    Thank you for your precious time.

  • @laman8914
    @laman8914 Před 3 lety +7

    I am not a mathematician but I have watched a number of clips explaining the Lambert W Function. What I understood is that if one has an exponential function and one cannot solve it, one might resort to defining its inverse function. This means resorting to the Lambert (W) expression of that function, on the condition that the Lambert (W) is not defined for values smaller than minus (1/e). I hope I have expressed it properly. If not, please advise, correct so I can understand this properly.

  • @user-dh1zg5dq7d
    @user-dh1zg5dq7d Před 3 lety +90

    So you still need a computer to evaluate the result and get a value? Every video I've seen on this function talks about the nice property, but conveniently neglects how one goes about evaluating the Lambert W function. So, we haven't really solved a problem here. We have just manipulated the equation and changed its form. It's not much different than saying "The solution to this equation is that answer that solves the equation."

    • @physicsandmathlectures3289
      @physicsandmathlectures3289  Před 3 lety +78

      In a sense I completely agree with you. Most special functions are defined to be the answer that solves some equation. But this doesn't mean that they aren't useful. Take a function like sine or cosine. One way of defining them is as the solution to the differential equation y''(x) = y(x). But in spite of this definition it is often more useful to work in terms of sine and cosine instead of leaving a problem otherwise unsimplified. In this case it's the ability to manipulate a problem more easily using the special function that makes it useful. In the case of the Lambert W function, it is nice to be able to write an exact function that is the inverse of xe^x, rather than working with an implicit form of the problem. Additionally, seeing the special function explicitly makes it easier to see and use the properties of the special function.
      I would also say that the process of evaluating the W function is comparable to evaluating a function like sine or cosine. What is sin(.2)? The way we find out is by plugging .2 into the Taylor series for sine and if we're working by hand then we evaluate a few terms and pay attention to the error. If we're on a computer then we just plug it in and get a very good answer. Likewise, there is a series for the Lambert W function (see my other videos), as well as other representations using integrals and continued fractions that one can use to get arbitrarily accurate values of the function. These can be approximated by hand, or you can just use a computer to get an exact answer.
      Thank you for the question. I hope my response makes some sense.

    • @Vnifit
      @Vnifit Před 3 lety +23

      @@physicsandmathlectures3289 This is a great answer!

    • @iHATEbigots666
      @iHATEbigots666 Před rokem +2

      ​@@physicsandmathlectures3289
      1/7 is the non-integer solution of 7x=1.
      sqrt(2) is the non-rational solution of x^2=2.
      sqrt(-1) is the non-"real" solution of x^2=-1.
      I'm wondering if there is a non-complex solution of tetrate( e^(-1*W(-1)) , -1/2) = sqrt(-1) that would allow us be analogous to i. Is there a name for this?
      P. S. I wrote e^(-1*W(-1)) there because it is one of two solutions to the equation ln(z)=z, where z is a complex number. I found a paper that says these are the only two values for which inverse tetration is not defined within the complex numbers.

    • @nicholasleclerc1583
      @nicholasleclerc1583 Před rokem +1

      @@physicsandmathlectures3289
      Woops, forgot a minus sign (-) in your implicit definition of (co)sinusoidal wave functions

    • @preetib6819
      @preetib6819 Před 8 měsíci +2

      You can use newtons method to approximate W function

  • @donlimonesioyt9644
    @donlimonesioyt9644 Před 7 měsíci +1

    I aproached this function in a very curious way. I was trying to determine in which intervals the function f(x)=xlnx-1 was positive or negative, thus having to calculate the value of x for f(x)=0. I tried to use the propierties of logarithms, but I was stuck in a cycle and didn’t manage to solve the equation. Then I tried to draw the graphic of the function and it seemed to cross with the x axis in somewhere near 1,73. I started substituting with the calculator values near that number and manage to get an aproximation of x. However, I still thought that there should be a way to get the exact value. I didn’t know what to do next, so, I asked, chat gpt, and it told me about the Lambert function. And that’s basically how I got to this video.

  • @marcosohanian4964
    @marcosohanian4964 Před rokem

    Amazing video! Thxx

  • @robertkeyling3131
    @robertkeyling3131 Před 7 měsíci

    I like it ❤
    Origin of this topic is so called calculus, almost nobody knows.

  • @mixcher849
    @mixcher849 Před 2 lety +3

    This video is just great

  • @UnsocialExperiment
    @UnsocialExperiment Před 2 měsíci

    Where do rainbows come from, how does the positraction on a Plymouth work, how does a Lambert W function work? It just does.

  • @That_One_Guy...
    @That_One_Guy... Před 3 lety +2

    Is there any elementary representation of this function ? (Like how trig functions can be expressed in exponential function)

    • @physicsandmathlectures3289
      @physicsandmathlectures3289  Před 3 lety +7

      I don't think so. There are plenty of other representations using integrals or continued fractions, but I'm not aware of any elementary function representation.

    • @pixerpinecone
      @pixerpinecone Před 2 lety +1

      No actually, I don’t believe this one’s non-elementary.

    • @santerisatama5409
      @santerisatama5409 Před 8 měsíci +1

      @@physicsandmathlectures3289 Hm. Continued fractions (especially in Stern-Brocot type binary tree structures) are elementary in terms of proof theory. Not sure whether they can be called functions, though.

  • @AshrafAli-qn3gb
    @AshrafAli-qn3gb Před 3 lety +1

    😊👌

  • @user-xw6ky8ob4l
    @user-xw6ky8ob4l Před 6 měsíci

    Longed to see an integer, decimal value, or complex number on the unit circle of Lambert W Function. So far am disappointed, and confused about the real use of Lambert W Function. Why no one has tabulated, to look up the values of Lambert W Function, live happily ever after? So far videos of Lambert W Function are hot air.

  • @kyks6771
    @kyks6771 Před 2 lety +1

    I want a Teflon transformation function asap 💩

  • @raf.4028
    @raf.4028 Před 3 lety +2

    whered ya go

    • @physicsandmathlectures3289
      @physicsandmathlectures3289  Před 3 lety +1

      Coursework has had me busy these last few months. I'm hoping to start posting semi-regularly within the next few weeks though.

  • @iHATEbigots666
    @iHATEbigots666 Před rokem +1

    If the inverse of exponentiation gives us i=sqrt(-1), then what does the inverse of tetration give us?
    Find a complex z such that the inverse of tetration doesn't exist *in the complex numbers*, and define the inverse tetration of z by (-1/2) be a new number; call it j. Could j be a new dimension?
    Then we could parameterize a sphere with S(t)=S((x+iy)*jz)=tetrate(Z,e^(2pi*(1+i)*j^t)), where Z=inv.tetrate(i,e^(-1*W(-1))).
    I tried to work out Z (complex value) so that S(j)=j and S(S(j))= tetrate(j,j) = i. Also, the W-lambert function comes up in this value because I found a paper that says the only two complex values for which inverse tetration is not defined are the two complex solutions to ln(z)=z, which involve W-lambert.
    What is this called? I'm an amateur math studyist...I know it has to do with hyper operations... I'm trying to research the topic of extending the complex numbers to be closed under inverse exponentiation to define further dimensions/numbers. Is there a name/search term for this? If any of these ideas are useful, take it and run with it. Thanks y'all!

  • @Alrukitaf
    @Alrukitaf Před rokem

    Very useful vid. But my brain hurts.

  • @renesperb
    @renesperb Před 7 měsíci

    The equation in the title does not make much sense if you want to define the Lambert function.Why not write yExp[y] = x ,then
    y = W[x] ?

  • @kaydenlimpert2779
    @kaydenlimpert2779 Před 6 měsíci

    log_e(x) is the inverse of e^x, not log(x), because log(x) is the same as log_10(x)

    • @iancorbett7457
      @iancorbett7457 Před 5 měsíci

      Log(x) can represent any base, in algebra it’s commonly used to refer to base 10 but in higher math it’s not uncommon to use it for other bases

    • @kaydenlimpert2779
      @kaydenlimpert2779 Před 5 měsíci

      @@iancorbett7457 ok

  • @izzyqrz1
    @izzyqrz1 Před 4 měsíci

    This looks DEQ stuff a little

  • @neuralwarp
    @neuralwarp Před rokem +2

    Please don't whistle into the microphone.

  • @pianotalent
    @pianotalent Před 8 měsíci

    Boring explanation...with too many unnecessary details...