# MathJax Guide

## 1. Introduction

MathJax is an open source JavaScript display engine for mathematics that works in all modern browsers. It allows the author of a web page to use familiar $$\LaTeX$$ notations to descibe their maths. Here's a few famous equations to give you a taste:

 $E = mc^2$ Probably the most famous of them all. Einstein's equation relating mass $$m$$ and energy $$E$$ via the speed of light $$c$$. Since $$c^2$$ is such a big number (about 90,000,000,000,000,000) even a tiny piece of matter equates to a huge amount of energy. $e^{i\pi}+1=0$ This astonishing equation connects five major constants of mathematics; $$e$$, Euler's Number, $$\pi$$, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, $$i$$, the square root of -1, 0, the additive identity and 1, the multiplicative identity. $e = \sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{1}{n!}$ Euler's number $$e$$ defined as the sum of an infinite series.

This guide is derived from the one written by Michael Downes of the American Mathematical Society. It has been edited slightly to reflect the capababilities of the MathJax JavaScript system for showing maths in web pages.