Big Numbers
It can be fun to choose big numbers, but should we?
Have you tried something like this?
If you add enough zeros, 2Code will show the number in a different way.
5e+21 is a very big number. So big, it is actually hard to think about!
Nevertheless, you can write it: a 5 followed by 21 zeros. That’s what the e+21 means.
5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
^ ^ ^ <- ^ millions
5 thousand, million, million, million
or 5 thousand billion billion
or 5 sextillion
There are estimated to be between 1e+20 and 1e+24 individual grains of sand on the Earth. So our number is something like that.
1e+24 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
5e+21 = 5,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
1e+20 = 100,000,000,000,000,000,000
How Big Can We Go?
If you go bonkers in 2Code, the biggest number you can put into a repeat block is 1e+400. Really!
How would you write this number?
- A 1 followed by 400 zeros
10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
Computer programs store numbers in the computer’s memory. There is a fixed amount of memory installed in a computer, so the memory available for numbers is restricted.
How Big Should We Go?
The monstrous number 1e+400 is so big it is impossible to think about. Stop!
You might just as well set your 2Code repeat block to repeat forever and feel lucky that we have a stop button. A forever loop really means; keep repeating until we interrupt you. They are actually quite useful.
Counting Without Interruptions
Just suppose an imaginary life form could count up from zero by saying the next number every second. Let’s say it started at the beginning of the Universe, which is why it is imaginary. Conditions near the time of the Big Bang were a little exteme. They were not good for any kind of life to exist, let alone do any uninterrupted counting.
How many seconds in a minute?
- 60
How many minutes in an hour?
- 60
- So there are
60 x 60seconds in an hour= 3600
How many hours in a day?
- 24
- So there are
24 x 60 x 60seconds in a day= 86,400
How many days in a year?
- 365 (and a quarter - but we’ll round)
- So there are
365 x 24 x 60 x 60seconds in a year= 31,536,000 - Or about 31 and half million.
How many years since the Universe began?
- 13.7 billion
- Which is
13,700,000,000 - Or
137e+8as you could write it (count the zeros)
How many seconds since the Universe began?
- We need to multiply 13.7 billion by 31 and a half million
- Or
137e+8 x 315e+5 - Maths rule to multiply e+ numbers:
- multiply the normal part, and
- add thei e+ part
- So,
(137 x 315) e+ (8 + 5)
Could you do that?
Even if it started when the Universe began, our capably counting creature could only have got up to just over 4e+17.
The difference between 21 and 17 is 4.
The way these e+ numbers work, 5e+21 is more than 10,000 times bigger than 4e+17. See the four zeros at work there?
So our creature would need to live (and count) for more than 10 thousand times the current age of the universe to count up to the big number we first saw at the top of the page.
Happy counting!