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A standardized way of writing very large numbers allows them to be easily sorted in increasing order, and one can get a good idea of how much larger a number is than another one. To compare numbers in scientific notation, say 5×10 4 and 2×10 5 , compare the exponents first, in this case 5 > 4, so 2×10 5 > 5×10 4 .
Names of larger numbers, however, have a tenuous, artificial existence, rarely found outside definitions, lists, and discussions of how large numbers are named. Even well-established names like sextillion are rarely used, since in the context of science, including astronomy, where such large numbers often occur, they are nearly always written ...
the integers, larger than 10 12, used as approximations of really large numbers needed in chemistry, physics, astronomy, perhaps geology, and especially number theory, and; various sequences of integers, often starting with small or moderate integers, that are used for dealing with such integers.
For an event X that occurs with very low probability of 0.0000001%, or once in one billion trials, in any single sample (see also almost never), considering 1,000,000,000 as a "truly large" number of independent samples gives the probability of occurrence of X equal to 1 − 0.999999999 1000000000 ≈ 0.63 = 63% and a number of independent ...
Arbitrary precision is used in applications where the speed of arithmetic is not a limiting factor, or where precise results with very large numbers are required. It should not be confused with the symbolic computation provided by many computer algebra systems , which represent numbers by expressions such as π ·sin(2) , and can thus represent ...
Kasner used it to illustrate the difference between an unimaginably large number and infinity, and in this role it is sometimes used in teaching mathematics. To put in perspective the size of a googol, the mass of an electron, just under 10 −30 kg, can be compared to the mass of the visible universe, estimated at between 10 50 and 10 60 kg. [ 5 ]
The numbers provided by Fortune are so insanely large that they're hard to wrap your head around in the abstract. So I did a little digging and came up with some pretty stunning comparisons.
Empty numbers are sometimes made up, with obvious meaning: "squillions" is obviously an empty, but very large, number; a "squintillionth" would be a very small number. Some empty numbers may be modified by actual numbers, such as "four zillion", and are used for jest, exaggeration, or to relate abstractly to actual numbers.