I came across an logarithm problem recently. I don't know why solution to this problem cannot be −2. Now, don't downvote now because you don't know why I'm asking this. I know that logarithms' domains must be greater than 0, can't take a negative number. Just read the whole post and wait until I get to the point to see why I'm asking this "ridiculous question".
This is the problem:
log10x=1−log10(x−3)
You can solve it like this:
log10x=log1010−log10(x−3)
log10x=log1010x−3
x=10x−3
x(x−3)=10
x2−3x−10=0
(x+2)(x−5)=0
x?=−2,x?=5
If you plug in 5, it will work just fine. You will get when simplified log105=log105. But if you plug in −2, you get something like this:
log10−2=log1010−2−3
log10−2=log10−2
I know that negative logarithms with any base don't exist, but I thought of something. There's a logarithm property which states:
logby=logbx⇒y=x
Using this property, we can say:
log10−2=log10−2⇒−2=−2
And, now (I hope) everyone will agree that −2 is indeed equal to −2 (itself).
So why besides 5, isn't −2 solution to this problem? Even if the property that I stated doesn't apply to this case, could I theoretically invent a new imaginary number unit of vb=logb(−1) like someone back in the days did with i=√−1 and state that log10(−2)=v10+log102 ?
Answer
Okay we've talked a lot about complex logarithms, let's try and solve the problem over the complex numbers. (I think that is what the OP is really interested in; it has been reiterated that the only solution over the reals is 5)
We have:
log10(−2)
The change of base formula is consistent for all complex numbers, of which 10 is one. (0i+10). But we must be careful about branch selection. In this exercise we will denote L(x) as the principal branch of the natural complex logarithm.
Therefore:
log10(−2) =L(−2)L(10)
By the definition of the principle branch:
log10(−2) = \frac{\ln(2)+iπ}{\ln(10)}
As @uqtredd1 has noted, this solution is not one that should be submitted in the context of the presented problem, but is completely extraneous. The complex logarithm is a multivalued function, which is why branch selection was so important. There are many more possible "answers" to what \log_{10} (-2) is in the complex sense.
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