Largest number is mathematically meaningless (since in the usual system of integers, any number may be increased by adding one to it); however, the term may refer to:
- Names of large numbers, for the largest numbers with names
- Infinity, a concept which can be used as a largest number in some contexts
- Graham's number, once claimed as the largest number ever used in a serious mathematical proof
- Large numbers, for notations to exactly specify very large numbers
In computers:
- The constant 32767, 2147483647, or 9223372036854775807, in a word of 16, 32, or 64 bits in two's-complement format
- The constant 65535, 4294967295, or 18446744073709551615, in a word of 16, 32, or 64 bits with no sign bit
- The constant 3.4028235e+38 or 1.7976931348623157e+308, in a word of 32 or 64 bits using the binary IEEE 754-2008 floating-point representation
Famous quotes containing the words largest and/or number:
“Figure him there, with his scrofulous diseases, with his great greedy heart, and unspeakable chaos of thoughts; stalking mournful as a stranger in this Earth; eagerly devouring what spiritual thing he could come at: school-languages and other merely grammatical stuff, if there were nothing better! The largest soul that was in all England.”
—Thomas Carlyle (1795–1881)
“It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive the manifestations of their aggression.”
—Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)