Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law

The diverse applications of the Benford law attract investigators working in various fields of physics, biology and sociology. At the same time, the groundings of the Benford law remain obscure. Our paper demonstrates that the Benford law arises from the positional (place-value) notation accepted fo...

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Main Authors:	G. Whyman, E. Shulzinger, Ed. Bormashenko
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier 2016-01-01
Series:	Results in Physics
Online Access:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379715000728

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spelling	doaj-33b0c2a392cf448ba59cee45898eb2052020-11-25T01:21:17ZengElsevierResults in Physics2211-37972016-01-01636Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford lawG. Whyman0E. Shulzinger1Ed. Bormashenko2Corresponding author.; Ariel University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Ariel, P.O.B.3, 40700, IsraelAriel University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Ariel, P.O.B.3, 40700, IsraelAriel University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Physics, Ariel, P.O.B.3, 40700, IsraelThe diverse applications of the Benford law attract investigators working in various fields of physics, biology and sociology. At the same time, the groundings of the Benford law remain obscure. Our paper demonstrates that the Benford law arises from the positional (place-value) notation accepted for representing various sets of data. An alternative to Benford formulae to predict the distribution of digits in statistical data is derived. Application of these formulae to the statistical analysis of infrared spectra of polymers is presented. Violations of the Benford Law are discussed. Keywords: Benford’s law, Leading digit phenomenon, Statistical data, Infrared spectra, Positional notationhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379715000728
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	G. Whyman E. Shulzinger Ed. Bormashenko
spellingShingle	G. Whyman E. Shulzinger Ed. Bormashenko Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law Results in Physics
author_facet	G. Whyman E. Shulzinger Ed. Bormashenko
author_sort	G. Whyman
title	Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law
title_short	Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law
title_full	Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law
title_fullStr	Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law
title_full_unstemmed	Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law
title_sort	intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the benford law
publisher	Elsevier
series	Results in Physics
issn	2211-3797
publishDate	2016-01-01
description	The diverse applications of the Benford law attract investigators working in various fields of physics, biology and sociology. At the same time, the groundings of the Benford law remain obscure. Our paper demonstrates that the Benford law arises from the positional (place-value) notation accepted for representing various sets of data. An alternative to Benford formulae to predict the distribution of digits in statistical data is derived. Application of these formulae to the statistical analysis of infrared spectra of polymers is presented. Violations of the Benford Law are discussed. Keywords: Benford’s law, Leading digit phenomenon, Statistical data, Infrared spectra, Positional notation
url	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379715000728
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Intuitive considerations clarifying the origin and applicability of the Benford law

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