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of the logarithm, known as the characteristic, could easily be determined by counting digits in the original number. A similar principle allows for the quick calculation of logarithms of positive numbers less than 1. Thus a single table of common logarithms can be used for the entire range of positive decimal numbers. See common logarithm for details on the use of characteristics and mantissas.

History

In 1544, Michael Stifel published Arithmetica

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