Eli5: Why are exponents so common in scientific formulas? Why is it so common that numbers in nature are multiplied by themselves?
In: Mathematics
Exponential functions are not only useful to describe classical exponential behavior (multiplying numbers by itself a certain number of times). With the right mathematical tools (complex numbers) you can also use them to describe periodic/oscillating things like waves, pendulum movement, etc.
You could use sine and cosine functions for that, but that is often pretty tedious and using exponential functions (in a form like `exp(2π*i*t)`) is more elegant in many cases.
As wave-like things occur all over physics you will also encounter exponential functions all over physics: From pendulum movements, over light waves and optics, up to electronics and quantum mechanics.
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