Euler’s Identity
by cricketjeff on August 18, 2007. © Jeff Green, All rights reserved
e to the π i equals minus one
Is the strangest thing in maths since maths begun
If you slightly rearrange it, to include the number nought
You have all the natural numbers, that all students should be taught
Euler wrote the formula, but it was known before his time
But I don’t know who discovered it, so they’re not in my rhyme
I cannot understand it, and I know no-one who can
But it seems it’s at the bottom of the universe’s plan
It is proved from complex analysis, which is not too hard to do
But a detailed explanation will have to come from you
Many number theorists, and many engineers
Do complex analyses ’til they’re coming out their ears.
But for me its not a daily tool, just a curious thing to find
And a lovely piece of theory that is pleasing to my mind.
English