42 (number)

Last updated
41 42 43
Cardinal forty-two
Ordinal 42nd
(forty-second)
Factorization 2 × 3 × 7
Divisors 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21, 42
Greek numeral ΜΒ´
Roman numeral XLII
Binary 1010102
Ternary 11203
Senary 1106
Octal 528
Duodecimal 3612
Hexadecimal 2A16

42 (forty-two) is the natural number that follows 41 and precedes 43.

Contents

Mathematics

42 is a pronic number, [1] an abundant number [2] as well as a highly abundant number, [3] a practical number, [4] an admirable number, [5] and a Catalan number. [6]

The 42-sided tetracontadigon is the largest such regular polygon that can only tile a vertex alongside other regular polygons, without tiling the plane. [7] [8] [9] [a]

42 is the only known that is equal to the number of sets of four distinct positive integers — each less than — such that and are all multiples of . Whether there are other values remains an open question. [11]

42 is the magic constant of the smallest non-trivial magic cube, a cube with entries of 1 through 27, where every row, column, corridor, and diagonal passing through the center sums to forty-two. [12] [13]

42 can be expressed as the sum of three cubes: [14]

The 3x3x3 simple magic cube with rows summing to 42 Simple magic cube.svg
The 3×3×3 simple magic cube with rows summing to 42

Science

Technology

Astronomy

Wisdom Literature, Religion and Philosophy

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything Answer to Life.png
The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, The Universe, and Everything

The number 42 is, in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, the "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything", calculated by an enormous supercomputer named Deep Thought over a period of 7.5 million years. Unfortunately, no one knows what the question is. Thus, to calculate the Ultimate Question, a special computer the size of a small planet was built from organic components and named "Earth". The Ultimate Question "What do you get when you multiply six by nine" [37] is found by Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect in the second book of the series, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe . This appeared first in the radio play and later in the novelization of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy .

The fourth book in the series, the novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish , contains 42 chapters. According to the novel Mostly Harmless , 42 is the street address of Stavromula Beta. In 1994, Adams created the 42 Puzzle , a game based on the number 42. Adams says he picked the number simply as a joke, with no deeper meaning.

Google also has a calculator easter egg when one searches "the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything." Once typed (all in lowercase), the calculator answers with the number 42. [38]

Works of Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll, who was a mathematician, [39] made repeated use of this number in his writings. [40]

Examples of Carroll's use of 42:

La Vita Nuova, Dante (1294)

Dante modeled the 42 chapters of his Vita Nuova on the 42 Stations of the Exodus. [45]

Music

Television and film

Video games

Sports

Jackie Robinson in his now-retired number 42 jersey Jrobinson.jpg
Jackie Robinson in his now-retired number 42 jersey

Architecture

Comics

Other fields

Other languages

Notes

  1. Otherwise, 42 is also the difference between the number of diagonals and edges in a regular dodecagon, [10] which is the largest regular polygon that can tessellate space alongside other regular polygons (see, Euclidean tilings by convex regular polygons).

Related Research Articles

10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language.

15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16.

20 (twenty) is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21.

17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number.

33 (thirty-three) is the natural number following 32 and preceding 34.

45 (forty-five) is the natural number following 44 and preceding 46.

72 (seventy-two) is the natural number following 71 and preceding 73. It is half a gross or six dozen.

84 (eighty-four) is the natural number following 83 and preceding 85. It is seven dozens.

32 (thirty-two) is the natural number following 31 and preceding 33.

34 (thirty-four) is the natural number following 33 and preceding 35.

31 (thirty-one) is the natural number following 30 and preceding 32. It is a prime number.

43 (forty-three) is the natural number following 42 and preceding 44.

1000 or one thousand is the natural number following 999 and preceding 1001. In most English-speaking countries, it can be written with or without a comma or sometimes a period separating the thousands digit: 1,000.

147 is the natural number following 146 and preceding 148.

135 is the natural number following 134 and preceding 136.

181 is the natural number following 180 and preceding 182.

257 is the natural number following 256 and preceding 258.

168 is the natural number following 167 and preceding 169.

177 is the natural number following 176 and preceding 178.

14 (fourteen) is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15.

References

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  3. Sloane, N. J. A. (ed.). "SequenceA002093(Highly abundant numbers)". The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences . OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
  4. Sloane, N. J. A. (ed.). "SequenceA005153(Practical numbers)". The On-Line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences . OEIS Foundation. Retrieved 2024-11-14.
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