Small Number
Within a set of positive numbers, a number is small if it is close to zero. A number is smaller if it is less than another number.
Within a set of positive and negative numbers there is ambiguity, because being closer to zero does not correspond to being less, but to being less in absolute value. Depending on context a negative number may be called "smaller" if it is closer to zero, or if it is more negative.
This article deals with positive numbers, and is also applicable to negative numbers by taking the absolute value.
Small numbers are numbers that are small compared with the numbers used in everyday life. Very small numbers often occur in fields such as chemistry, electronics and quantum physics.
Read more about Small Number: Fractions, Tiny Numbers in Science, Extremely Small Numbers, Infinitesimals
Famous quotes containing the words small and/or number:
“There are no small number of people in this world who, solitary by nature,
always try to go back into their shell like a hermit crab or a snail.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“I heartily wish you, in the plain home-spun style, a great number of happy new years, well employed in forming both your mind and your manners, to be useful and agreeable to yourself, your country, and your friends.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)