Star survey reaches 70 sextillion

[Jack Simth]

Originally posted by Taera:
OFF TOPIC what are the names for higher numbers anyways? its Million, Billion...?

10^3: Thousand; 10^6: Million; 10^9: Billion; 10^12: Trillion ...
... By one definition of the words, anyway.

Check the italics; they're numbers (or nearly so - I could be a letter off in highlighting them, or there could have been some warp to it over time) in Latin (or is it Greek?) Mi: one; Bi: two; Tri: three. Multiply the matching number by three, add three, and you get the number of zero's that follow a one to get that cardinal number. In theory, you can learn to count in Greek (or is it Latin?) and go as high as you like in that fashion, but it quickly becomes easier to use scientific notation, so almost nobody uses the standard Version for cardinals above a trillion.

[ July 25, 2003, 08:56: Message edited by: Jack Simth ]

[Taera]

well, i was just curious about what other names for big numbers are there - like that sextillion, 10^21

[ July 25, 2003, 09:11: Message edited by: Taera ]

[Arkcon]

Scientists don't use words like million, billion, trillion because they mean different numbers in different countries. It's too early in the morning for me to work out the digits. Suffice to say, most European Languages use mill- to mean a thousand. But American english uses the term billion where the British term milliard is otherwise used.

And I doubt anyone uses tetartillion, quintillion, and I might even be giving the wrong words here.

The article uses sextillion, but face it, the journalist just liked the word. But then there would be heptillion, octillion, nonillion, decaillion, undecaillion, dodecaillion, ... you all know the sequence. You. Yeah you, guy who played DnD, with the polyhedria dice, I'm talking to you.

[ July 25, 2003, 14:57: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[oleg]

Originally posted by Narf'scompatshop:
trillion.

and there's a googal to, but i forget how large that is. mathematician's son came up with that. sounds about right for a really big number.

10^100 It is bigger than number of atoms in Universe, Last time I counted them

[Arkcon]

Originally posted by oleg:
10^100 It is bigger than number of atoms in Universe, Last time I counted them

That's the way I heard it as well. Something on the order of 10^40 atoms of hydrogen in the entire universe (as best as we can understand it so far). And perhaps 10^44 seconds in the lifespan of the universe -- from big bang to big crunch or heat death as I recall. That would be in the dodecillions -- if someone wanted to use that name for the number

[ July 26, 2003, 01:18: Message edited by: Arkcon ]

[Narf'scompatshop]

not all the atoms in the universe are hydrogen. most, i guess but not all.

[oleg]

Originally posted by Narf'scompatshop:
not all the atoms in the universe are hydrogen. most, i guess but not all.

Number of all other atoms is completely negligeable. Less than a tiny fraction of percent.

[Erax]

Here's how it goes, AFAIK : million, billion, trillion, quadrillion, quintillion, sextillion, septillion, octillion, nonillion, decillion. This sequence uses the Latin roots for numbers, not the Greek roots (tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-).

Speaking a Latin language can be handy once in a very great while.

And 'milliard' is actually a French term which was borrowed by British English.

[ July 26, 2003, 14:08: Message edited by: Erax ]

[Arkcon]

Right. So. For American English at least, and for the truly pedantic nerds among us -- (The applicant for your consideration as the biggest nerd speaking here, ahem) -- the list would go like this:
(Wish I knew how to set the small font like everyone else does)

10^3 thousand
10^6 million,
10^9 billion,
10^12 trillion,
10^15 quadrillion,
10^18 quintillion,
10^21 sextillion,
10^24 septillion,
10^27 octillion,
10^30 nonillion,
10^33 decillion
10^36 undecillion
10^39 dodecillion
Insert - 10^40, number of hydrogen atoms in the universe, we guess (well astrophysicists, not me personally)
10^42 tridecilion
Insert - 10^44, number of seconds in the lifetime of the universe, we guess
10^45 quadecilion
10^48 quintdecillion
10^51 sexdecillion
10^54 septdecillion
10^57 octdecillion
10^60 nondecillion
10^63 eicoillion
Insert - 10^64, energy, in joules, of the Big Bang, we guess, unless someone was there. (anyone?)
10^66 uneicoillion
Insert - Official beginning of numbers that have no meaning to human minds

[Fyron]

Insert - Official beginning of numbers that have no meaning to human minds

Actually, numbers greater than 4 have no meaning to the human mind. Every number beyond that is thought of as sets of 4s (including partial 4s). Of course, this is at the most basic level of thinking, and we are obviously quite capable of fooling ourselves into thinking we can comprehend big numbers.