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This is the form of the equation that is most commonly used to describe exponential decay. Any one of decay constant, mean lifetime, or half-life is sufficient to characterise the decay. The notation λ for the decay constant is a remnant of the usual notation for an eigenvalue .
Half-life is constant over the lifetime of an exponentially decaying quantity, and it is a characteristic unit for the exponential decay equation. The accompanying table shows the reduction of a quantity as a function of the number of half-lives elapsed.
This behavior is referred to as a "decaying" exponential function. The time τ (tau) is referred to as the "time constant" and can be used (as in this case) to indicate how rapidly an exponential function decays. Here: t is time (generally t > 0 in control engineering) V 0 is the initial value (see "specific cases" below). Specific cases
Exponential functions with bases 2 and 1/2. The exponential function is a mathematical function denoted by () = or (where the argument x is written as an exponent).Unless otherwise specified, the term generally refers to the positive-valued function of a real variable, although it can be extended to the complex numbers or generalized to other mathematical objects like matrices or Lie algebras.
Exponential growth. Exponential growth is a process that increases quantity over time at an ever-increasing rate. It occurs when the instantaneous rate of change (that is, the derivative) of a quantity with respect to time is proportional to the quantity itself. Described as a function, a quantity undergoing exponential growth is an exponential ...
The stretched exponential function. is obtained by inserting a fractional power law into the exponential function. In most applications, it is meaningful only for arguments t between 0 and +∞. With β = 1, the usual exponential function is recovered. With a stretching exponent β between 0 and 1, the graph of log f versus t is ...
Probability of survival and particle lifetime. Particle decay is a Poisson process, and hence the probability that a particle survives for time t before decaying (the survival function) is given by an exponential distribution whose time constant depends on the particle's velocity:
A double exponential function is a constant raised to the power of an exponential function. The general formula is () = = (where a>1 and b>1), which grows much more quickly than an exponential function. For example, if a = b = 10: f(x) = 10 10 x; f(0) = 10; f(1) = 10 10; f(2) = 10 100 = googol; f(3) = 10 1000; f(100) = 10 10 100 = googolplex ...