In 1683, Bernoulli discovered the constant "e" by studying a question about compound [[Interest|interest]]: > If you invest $1 and it grows at a 100% annual interest rate, ==compounded continuously== - every millisecond of the year - what will the dollar grow to after 1 year? > > A: $2.718, also known as Euler's Number, or "e". Bernoulli modelled the growth of compound interest, and took the "limit" as the compounding time interval "n" approaches infinity. $ e = \lim_{n \to \infty}(1 + \frac{1}{n})^n $ The [[Exponential Distribution|exponential distribution]], which models the time between events in a [[Poisson Process|poisson process]], relies heavily on **e**.