Definition:Derivative/Higher Derivatives/Second Derivative/Notation/Leibniz Notation
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Leibniz's Notation for Second Derivative
Leibniz's notation for the second derivative of a function $y = \map f x$ with respect to the independent variable $x$ is:
- $\dfrac {\d^2 y} {\d x^2}$
Historical Note
Leibniz's notation for a derivative came at about the same time that the manuscript dated $29$th October $1675$ in which the notation for the integral had been devised.
At the same time he introduced the differential symbol $\d$.
Thus he was soon writing $\d x$, $\d y$, and $\dfrac {\d y} {\d x}$ soon followed.
In his $1684$ article Nova Methodus pro Maximis et Minimis, published in Acta Eruditorum, he casually drops the notation in place with very little explanation.