Largest Number

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:

    We saw many straggling white pines, commonly unsound trees, which had therefore been skipped by the choppers; these were the largest trees we saw; and we occasionally passed a small wood in which this was the prevailing tree; but I did not notice nearly so many of these trees as I can see in a single walk in Concord.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)

    ... [woman suffrage] has made little difference beyond doubling the number of voters. There is no woman’s vote as such. They divide up just about as men do.
    Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884–1980)