Jul 192015
 

In checking out the numbers from the immediately preceding post, I looked up “sextillion” on wikipedia just to make sure it’s 10E21 (it is, in the US/Canadian/modern British system). There are, it turns out, a whole lot of named very large numbers.

We’ve all heard of a googol… 1E100, or a one followed by a hundred zeroes. Most readers of this blog will, I’m sure, have heard of a googolplex, which is ten to the power of a googol… one followed by a googol zeroes. Carl Sagan pointed out that a piece of paper with a googolplex written out in full on it would not fit within the visible universe.

There are other very large numbers between a googol and a googolplex that might be of interest. Doubtful they’d be of much actual *use,* of course, since most of these numbers are so much larger than any realistic physical phenomenon that they’d never be useful for describing anything real. As an example: the smallest possible distance would seem to the the Planck length. This is 1.6e6E-35 meters. (A good description of the size of the Planck length is this: if a 0.1mm circle was blown up to the size of the observable universe, the Planck length from that original dot would be scaled up to, wait for it, about 0.1mm.) Well, one light year is 9,460,730,472,580,800 meters. So one light year is about 5.85E50 Planck lengths. If the visible universe is 13.8 billion light years in radius (current best estimate), that’s 8.08E60 Planck lengths. A sphere that size would have a volume of 2.21E183 cubic Planck lengths.

mathburns

No calculation that has any practical meaning for the universe as it currently stands would seem to ever be likely to come anywhere near needing numbers much bigger than 1E183. And yet, being humans, we’ve named numbers we’ll never have any use for. The number of Planck lengths in the visible universe, as it turns out, is easily expressible in Sexagintillions.

Names of large numbers

Base -illion
(short scale)
Value U.S., Canada and modern British
(short scale)
Traditional British
(long scale)
Traditional European (Peletier)
(long scale)
SI
Symbol
SI
Prefix
1 106 Million Million Million M Mega-
2 109 Billion Thousand million Milliard G Giga-
3 1012 Trillion Billion Billion T Tera-
4 1015 Quadrillion Thousand billion Billiard P Peta-
5 1018 Quintillion Trillion Trillion E Exa-
6 1021 Sextillion Thousand trillion Trilliard Z Zetta-
7 1024 Septillion Quadrillion Quadrillion Y Yotta-
8 1027 Octillion Thousand quadrillion Quadrilliard
9 1030 Nonillion Quintillion Quintillion
10 1033 Decillion Thousand quintillion Quintilliard
11 1036 Undecillion Sextillion Sextillion
12 1039 Duodecillion Thousand sextillion Sextilliard
13 1042 Tredecillion Septillion Septillion
14 1045 Quattuordecillion Thousand septillion Septilliard
15 1048 Quinquadecillion Octillion Octillion
16 1051 Sedecillion Thousand octillion Octilliard
17 1054 Septendecillion Nonillion Nonillion
18 1057 Octodecillion Thousand nonillion Nonilliard
19 1060 Novendecillion Decillion Decillion
20 1063 Vigintillion Thousand decillion Decilliard
21 1066 Unvigintillion Undecillion Undecillion
22 1069 Duovigintillion Thousand undecillion Undecilliard
23 1072 Tresvigintillion Duodecillion Duodecillion
24 1075 Quattuorvigintillion Thousand duodecillion Duodecilliard
25 1078 Quinquavigintillion Tredecillion Tredecillion
26 1081 Sesvigintillion Thousand tredecillion Tredecilliard
27 1084 Septemvigintillion Quattuordecillion Quattuordecillion
28 1087 Octovigintillion Thousand quattuordecillion Quattuordecilliard
29 1090 Novemvigintillion Quindecillion Quindecillion
30 1093 Trigintillion Thousand quindecillion Quindecilliard
31 1096 Untrigintillion Sedecillion Sedecillion
32 1099 Duotrigintillion Thousand sedecillion Sedecilliard
33 10102 Trestrigintillion Septendecillion Septendecillion
34 10105 Quattuortrigintillion Thousand septendecillion Septendecilliard
35 10108 Quinquatrigintillion Octodecillion Octodecillion
36 10111 Sestrigintillion Thousand octodecillion Octodecilliard
37 10114 Septentrigintillion Novendecillion Novendecillion
38 10117 Octotrigintillion Thousand novendecillion Novendecilliard
39 10120 Noventrigintillion Vigintillion Vigintillion
40 10123 Quadragintillion Thousand vigintillion Vigintilliard
50 10153 Quinquagintillion Thousand quinquavigintillion Quinquavigintilliard
60 10183 Sexagintillion Thousand trigintillion Trigintilliard
70 10213 Septuagintillion Thousand quinquatrigintillion Quinquatrigintilliard
80 10243 Octogintillion Thousand quadragintillion Quadragintilliard
90 10273 Nonagintillion Thousand quinquaquadragintillion Quinquaquadragintilliard
100 10303 Centillion Thousand quinquagintillion Quinquagintilliard
101 10306 Uncentillion Unquinquagintillion Unquinquagintillion
102 10309 Duocentillion Thousand unquinquagintillion Unquinquagintilliard
103 10312 Trescentillion Duoquinquagintillion Duoquinquagintillion
110 10333 Decicentillion Thousand quinquaquinquagintillion Quinquaquinquagintilliard
111 10336 Undecicentillion Sesquinquagintillion Sesquinquagintillion
120 10363 Viginticentillion Thousand sexagintillion Sexagintilliard
121 10366 Unviginticentillion Unsexagintillion Unsexagintillion
130 10393 Trigintacentillion Thousand quinquasexagintillion Quinquasexagintilliard
140 10423 Quadragintacentillion Thousand septuagintillion Septuagintilliard
150 10453 Quinquagintacentillion Thousand quinquaseptuagintillion Quinquaseptuagintilliard
160 10483 Sexagintacentillion Thousand octogintillion Octogintilliard
170 10513 Septuagintacentillion Thousand quinquaoctogintillion Quinquaoctogintilliard
180 10543 Octogintacentillion Thousand nonagintillion Nonagintilliard
190 10573 Nonagintacentillion Thousand quinquanonagintillion Quinquanonagintilliard
200 10603 Ducentillion Thousand centillion Centilliard
300 10903 Trecentillion Thousand quinquagintacentillion Quinquagintacentilliard
400 101203 Quadringentillion Thousand ducentillion Ducentilliard
500 101503 Quingentillion Thousand quinquagintaducentillion Quinquagintaducentilliard
600 101803 Sescentillion Thousand trecentillion Trecentilliard
700 102103 Septingentillion Thousand quinquagintatrecentillion Quinquagintatrecentilliard
800 102403 Octingentillion Thousand quadringentillion Quadringentilliard
900 102703 Nongentillion Thousand quinquagintaquadringentillion Quinquagintaquadringentilliard
1000 103003 Millinillion Thousand quingentillion Quingentilliard
 Posted by at 3:24 pm