Writing less: Using scientific notation for very large or very small numbers
June 29, 2009When dealing with very large or very small numbers we can opt by writing them under scientific notation.
Scientific notation, also known as standard form or as exponential notation, is a way of writing numbers that accommodates values too large or small to be conveniently written in standard decimal notation. Scientific notation has a number of useful properties and is often favored by scientists, mathematicians and engineers, who work with such numbers.
Scientific Notation @ Wikipedia
So as we – developers – are part-scientists,part-mathematicians and part-engineers, so I guess this is perfect for us!
We have all seen that on high school and it seemed quite strange but it is quite simple indeed:
Equation
The equation is as it follows in a simplified language:
Simplified number x10number of decimal units
The “Simplified number” is the number in a simplified manner.
Examples:
- 1000000 = 1
- 4230000 = 423
And then we just add in the other hand the number of decimal units that were simpled-out.
- 1000000 becomes 1×106
- 4230000 becomes 423×104