Powers Of 10
In mathematics, a power of ten is any of the integer powers of the number ten; in other words, ten multiplied by itself a certain number of times. By definition, the number one is a power (the zeroth power) of ten. The first few powers of ten are:
- 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000, 1000000, 1000000000 ... (sequence A011557 in OEIS)
| Name | Power | Number | SI symbol | SI prefix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One | 0 | 1 | - | uni |
| Ten | 1 | 10 | da | deca |
| Hundred | 2 | 100 | h | hecto |
| Thousand | 3 | 1,000 | k | kilo |
| Million | 6 | 1,000,000 | M | mega |
| Billion (Milliard) | 9 | 1,000,000,000 | G | giga |
| Trillion (Billion) | 12 | 1,000,000,000,000 | T | tera |
| Quadrillion | 15 | 1,000,000,000,000,000 | P | peta |
| Quintillion | 18 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 | E | exa |
| Sextillion | 21 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | Z | zetta |
| Septillion | 24 | 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 | Y | yotta |
In decimal notation the nth power of ten is written as '1' followed by n zeroes. It can also be written as 10n or as 1En in E notation. See order of magnitude and orders of magnitude (numbers) for named powers of ten.
The sequence of powers of ten can also be extended to negative powers:
| Name | Power | Number | SI symbol | SI prefix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenth | −1 | 0.1 | d | deci |
| Hundredth | −2 | 0.01 | c | centi |
| Thousandth | −3 | 0.001 | m | milli |
| Millionth | −6 | 0.000 001 | μ | micro |
| Billionth | −9 | 0.000 000 001 | n | nano |
| Trillionth | −12 | 0.000 000 000 001 | p | pico |
| Quadrillionth | −15 | 0.000 000 000 000 001 | f | femto |
| Quintillionth | −18 | 0.000 000 000 000 000 001 | a | atto |
| Sextillionth | −21 | 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 001 | z | zepto |
| Septillionth | −24 | 0.000 000 000 000 000 000 000 001 | y | yocto |
Read more about Powers Of 10: Googol, Scientific Notation
Famous quotes containing the words powers of and/or powers:
“The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the shadowy and of the Egypt the Sphinx. Throughout history, the powers of single blacks flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“The Powers whose name and shape no living creature knows
Have pulled the Immortal Rose;
And though the Seven Lights bowed in their dance and wept,
The Polar Dragon slept,
His heavy rings uncoiled from glimmering deep to deep....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)