Page 1 of 2
Infinite Numbers
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:41 pm
by balon!
Does it have a limit? I've never used anything more than a billion, but since our system doesn't have a top cap are there actual names? Like, "Million" "Billion" ...."Brazillian"?
Where does it go after Billion?
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:47 pm
by Vain
Moved to Gen Disc.
I think the largest named number is a googleplex - which is a google to the power of a google
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 12:48 pm
by balon!
Vain wrote:Moved to Gen Disc.
I think the largest named number is a googleplex - which is a google to the power of a google
HAHA. I was wondering what happened to it....
I do remember something like that from when I was a kid. A million million or something? Or a thousand with a thousand zeros? Something like that.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:03 pm
by Fist and Faith
IIRC, Sagan said you couldn't stuff the amount of paper it would take to write the number googleplex into the known universe. At least at whatever size font he was talking about. But nothing huge. Maybe a half-inch high? A google of 0's is quite a few!
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:04 pm
by Vain
A google is 1 followed by 100 zeros. A googleplex is so large that if you had a piece of paper the size of the universe - it wouldn't be big enough to write all the zeros
Well that's how I recall it from watching Cosmos when I was a kid
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:05 pm
by balon!
Fist and Faith wrote:IIRC, Sagan said you couldn't stuff the amount of paper it would take to write the number googleplex into the known universe. At least at whatever size font he was talking about. But nothing huge. Maybe a half-inch high? A google of 0's is quite a few!
I think I wrote it out on time when I was eight. Took three pieces of paper for me.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:07 pm
by The Laughing Man
good thing I didn't start a thread: a picture's worth a google words!
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:08 pm
by Vain
On a lesser note, I understand that a trillion follows a billion
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:09 pm
by Vain
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:14 pm
by balon!
I'll be damned.
Skewes' number (gesundheit) is 10^10^10^34 was used as an upper bound in a mathematical proof.
I guess we sort of DO have a top cap. At least, when it comes to using it as proof or an actual WORKING number.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:16 pm
by The Laughing Man
Vain wrote:On a lesser note, I understand that a trillion follows a billion
those are some pretty big words, mister.
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 1:25 pm
by Vain
And I'm not even going to Berkley
Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 2:37 pm
by I'm Murrin
Graham's Number
It is too large to be written in scientific notation because even the digits in the exponent would exceed the number of atoms in the observable universe so it needs its own special notation (G) to write down. Graham's number is much larger than other well known large numbers such as a googol and a googolplex, and even larger than Skewes' number and Moser's number, other well-known large numbers.
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 7:12 am
by High Lord Tolkien
Googleplex?
Please!
That's paltry.
You want the biggest number?
Zillion.
Case closed.
Hey all this talk about Cosmos has reminded me.
The History Channel is playing "The Universe" almost every night.
It's really good.
(I do long to hear Sagan say the word "billions" again though.)
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:59 am
by The Laughing Man
oh please! zillion? how about gajillion? WAY huger.
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:14 pm
by hierachy
well I thought gadillion came after that... then kachillion.
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 1:20 pm
by Fist and Faith
I briefly mentioned infinites on my not-overly-well-received math thread.
kevinswatch.ihugny.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=175413#175413
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:45 pm
by Wyldewode
I like math and all, but these kind of numbers boggle my mind. It's like thinking about the universe, and how it has no center, and no edge. Heavy stuff, man!
Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 4:47 pm
by The Laughing Man
Murrin wrote:Graham's Number
It is too large to be written in scientific notation because even the digits in the exponent would exceed the number of atoms in the observable universe so it needs its own special notation (G) to write down. Graham's number is much larger than other well known large numbers such as a googol and a googolplex, and even larger than Skewes' number and Moser's number, other well-known large numbers.
leave it to a mathmetician to create a number that doesn't exist.
Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 4:19 pm
by Cagliostro
I say that we, the members of Kevin's Watch, create the largest number known to man.
What should we call it?