This is a list of notable numbers and articles about notable numbers. The list does not contain all numbers in existence as most of the number sets are infinite. Numbers may be included in the list based on their mathematical, historical or cultural notability, but all numbers have qualities that could arguably make them notable. Even the smallest "uninteresting" number is paradoxically interesting for that very property. This is known as the interesting number paradox.
The definition of what is classed as a number is rather diffuse and based on historical distinctions. For example, the pair of numbers (3,4) is commonly regarded as a number when it is in the form of a complex number (3+4i), but not when it is in the form of a vector (3,4). This list will also be categorized with the standard convention of types of numbers.
This list focuses on numbers as mathematical objects and is not a list of numerals, which are linguistic devices: nouns, adjectives, or adverbs that designate numbers. The distinction is drawn between the number five (an abstract object equal to 2+3), and the numeral five (the noun referring to the number).
Natural numbers are a subset of the integers and are of historical and pedagogical value as they can be used for counting and often have ethno-cultural significance (see below). Beyond this, natural numbers are widely used as a building block for other number systems including the integers, rational numbers and real numbers. Natural numbers are those used for counting (as in "there are six (6) coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the third (3rd) largest city in the country"). In common language, words used for counting are "cardinal numbers" and words used for ordering are "ordinal numbers". Defined by the Peano axioms, the natural numbers form an infinitely large set. Often referred to as "the naturals", the natural numbers are usually symbolised by a boldface N (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+2115ℕDOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL N).
The inclusion of 0 in the set of natural numbers is ambiguous and subject to individual definitions. In set theory and computer science, 0 is typically considered a natural number. In number theory, it usually is not. The ambiguity can be solved with the terms "non-negative integers", which includes 0, and "positive integers", which does not.
Natural numbers may be used as cardinal numbers, which may go by various names. Natural numbers may also be used as ordinal numbers.
Natural numbers may have properties specific to the individual number or may be part of a set (such as prime numbers) of numbers with a particular property.
Along with their mathematical properties, many integers have cultural significance [2] or are also notable for their use in computing and measurement. As mathematical properties (such as divisibility) can confer practical utility, there may be interplay and connections between the cultural or practical significance of an integer and its mathematical properties.
Subsets of the natural numbers, such as the prime numbers, may be grouped into sets, for instance based on the divisibility of their members. Infinitely many such sets are possible. A list of notable classes of natural numbers may be found at classes of natural numbers.
A prime number is a positive integer which has exactly two divisors: 1 and itself.
The first 100 prime numbers are:
2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 29 |
31 | 37 | 41 | 43 | 47 | 53 | 59 | 61 | 67 | 71 |
73 | 79 | 83 | 89 | 97 | 101 | 103 | 107 | 109 | 113 |
127 | 131 | 137 | 139 | 149 | 151 | 157 | 163 | 167 | 173 |
179 | 181 | 191 | 193 | 197 | 199 | 211 | 223 | 227 | 229 |
233 | 239 | 241 | 251 | 257 | 263 | 269 | 271 | 277 | 281 |
283 | 293 | 307 | 311 | 313 | 317 | 331 | 337 | 347 | 349 |
353 | 359 | 367 | 373 | 379 | 383 | 389 | 397 | 401 | 409 |
419 | 421 | 431 | 433 | 439 | 443 | 449 | 457 | 461 | 463 |
467 | 479 | 487 | 491 | 499 | 503 | 509 | 521 | 523 | 541 |
A highly composite number (HCN) is a positive integer with more divisors than any smaller positive integer. They are often used in geometry, grouping and time measurement.
The first 20 highly composite numbers are:
1, 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 120, 180, 240, 360, 720, 840, 1260, 1680, 2520, 5040, 7560
A perfect number is an integer that is the sum of its positive proper divisors (all divisors except itself).
The first 10 perfect numbers:
The integers are a set of numbers commonly encountered in arithmetic and number theory. There are many subsets of the integers, including the natural numbers, prime numbers, perfect numbers, etc. Many integers are notable for their mathematical properties. Integers are usually symbolised by a boldface Z (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+2124ℤDOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL Z); this became the symbol for the integers based on the German word for "numbers" ( Zahlen).
Notable integers include −1, the additive inverse of unity, and 0, the additive identity.
As with the natural numbers, the integers may also have cultural or practical significance. For instance, −40 is the equal point in the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales.
One important use of integers is in orders of magnitude. A power of 10 is a number 10k, where k is an integer. For instance, with k = 0, 1, 2, 3, ..., the appropriate powers of ten are 1, 10, 100, 1000, ... Powers of ten can also be fractional: for instance, k = -3 gives 1/1000, or 0.001. This is used in scientific notation, real numbers are written in the form m × 10n. The number 394,000 is written in this form as 3.94 × 105.
Integers are used as prefixes in the SI system. A metric prefix is a unit prefix that precedes a basic unit of measure to indicate a multiple or fraction of the unit. Each prefix has a unique symbol that is prepended to the unit symbol. The prefix kilo- , for example, may be added to gram to indicate multiplication by one thousand: one kilogram is equal to one thousand grams. The prefix milli- , likewise, may be added to metre to indicate division by one thousand; one millimetre is equal to one thousandth of a metre.
Value | 1000m | Name | Symbol |
---|---|---|---|
1000 | 10001 | Kilo | k |
1000000 | 10002 | Mega | M |
1000000000 | 10003 | Giga | G |
1000000000000 | 10004 | Tera | T |
1000000000000000 | 10005 | Peta | P |
1000000000000000000 | 10006 | Exa | E |
1000000000000000000000 | 10007 | Zetta | Z |
1000000000000000000000000 | 10008 | Yotta | Y |
1000000000000000000000000000 | 10009 | Ronna | R |
1000000000000000000000000000000 | 100010 | Quetta | Q |
A rational number is any number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction p/q of two integers, a numerator p and a non-zero denominator q. [5] Since q may be equal to 1, every integer is trivially a rational number. The set of all rational numbers, often referred to as "the rationals", the field of rationals or the field of rational numbers is usually denoted by a boldface Q (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+211AℚDOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL Q); [6] it was thus denoted in 1895 by Giuseppe Peano after quoziente , Italian for "quotient".
Rational numbers such as 0.12 can be represented in infinitely many ways, e.g. zero-point-one-two (0.12), three twenty-fifths (3/25), nine seventy-fifths (9/75), etc. This can be mitigated by representing rational numbers in a canonical form as an irreducible fraction.
A list of rational numbers is shown below. The names of fractions can be found at numeral (linguistics).
Decimal expansion | Fraction | Notability |
---|---|---|
1.0 | 1/1 | One is the multiplicative identity. One is a rational number, as it is equal to 1/1. |
1 | ||
−0.083 333... | −+1/12 | The value assigned to the series 1+2+3... by zeta function regularization and Ramanujan summation. |
0.5 | 1/2 | One half occurs commonly in mathematical equations and in real world proportions. One half appears in the formula for the area of a triangle: 1/2 × base × perpendicular height and in the formulae for figurate numbers, such as triangular numbers and pentagonal numbers. |
3.142 857... | 22/7 | A widely used approximation for the number . It can be proven that this number exceeds . |
0.166 666... | 1/6 | One sixth. Often appears in mathematical equations, such as in the sum of squares of the integers and in the solution to the Basel problem. |
Real numbers are least upper bounds of sets of rational numbers that are bounded above, or greatest lower bounds of sets of rational numbers that are bounded below, or limits of convergent sequences of rational numbers. real numbers that are not rational numbers are called irrational numbers. The real numbers are categorised as algebraic numbers (which are the root of a polynomial with rational coefficients) or transcendental numbers, which are not; all rational numbers are algebraic.
Name | Expression | Decimal expansion | Notability |
---|---|---|---|
Golden ratio conjugate () | 0.618033988749894848204586834366 | Reciprocal of (and one less than) the golden ratio. | |
Twelfth root of two | 1.059463094359295264561825294946 | Proportion between the frequencies of adjacent semitones in the 12 tone equal temperament scale. | |
Cube root of two | 1.259921049894873164767210607278 | Length of the edge of a cube with volume two. See doubling the cube for the significance of this number. | |
Conway's constant | (cannot be written as expressions involving integers and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and the extraction of roots) | 1.303577269034296391257099112153 | Defined as the unique positive real root of a certain polynomial of degree 71. The limit ratio between subsequent numbers in the binary Look-and-say sequence ( OEIS: A014715 ). |
Plastic ratio | 1.324717957244746025960908854478 | The only real solution of .( OEIS: A060006 ) The limit ratio between subsequent numbers in the Van der Laan sequence. ( OEIS: A182097 ) | |
Square root of two | 1.414213562373095048801688724210 | √2 = 2 sin 45° = 2 cos 45° Square root of two a.k.a. Pythagoras' constant. Ratio of diagonal to side length in a square. Proportion between the sides of paper sizes in the ISO 216 series (originally DIN 476 series). | |
Supergolden ratio | 1.465571231876768026656731225220 | The only real solution of .( OEIS: A092526 ) The limit ratio between subsequent numbers in Narayana's cows sequence. ( OEIS: A000930 ) | |
Triangular root of 2 | 1.561552812808830274910704927987 | ||
Golden ratio (φ) | 1.618033988749894848204586834366 | The larger of the two real roots of x2 = x + 1. | |
Square root of three | 1.732050807568877293527446341506 | √3 = 2 sin 60° = 2 cos 30° . A.k.a. the measure of the fish or Theodorus' constant. Length of the space diagonal of a cube with edge length 1. Altitude of an equilateral triangle with side length 2. Altitude of a regular hexagon with side length 1 and diagonal length 2. | |
Tribonacci constant | 1.839286755214161132551852564653 | The only real solution of .( OEIS: A058265 ) The limit ratio between subsequent numbers in the Tribonacci sequence.( OEIS: A000073 ) Appears in the volume and coordinates of the snub cube and some related polyhedra. | |
Supersilver ratio | 2.20556943040059031170202861778 | The only real solution of .( OEIS: A356035 ) The limit ratio between subsequent numbers in the third-order Pell sequence. ( OEIS: A008998 ) | |
Square root of five | 2.236067977499789696409173668731 | Length of the diagonal of a 1 × 2 rectangle. | |
Silver ratio (δS) | 2.414213562373095048801688724210 | The larger of the two real roots of x2 = 2x + 1. Altitude of a regular octagon with side length 1. | |
Bronze ratio (S3) | 3.302775637731994646559610633735 | The larger of the two real roots of x2 = 3x + 1. |
Name | Symbol or Formula | Decimal expansion | Notes and notability |
---|---|---|---|
Gelfond's constant | 23.14069263277925... | ||
Ramanujan's constant | 262537412640768743.99999999999925... | ||
Gaussian integral | 1.772453850905516... | ||
Komornik–Loreti constant | 1.787231650... | ||
Universal parabolic constant | 2.29558714939... | ||
Gelfond–Schneider constant | 2.665144143... | ||
Euler's number | 2.718281828459045235360287471352662497757247... | Raising e to the power of π will result in . | |
Pi | 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375... | Pi is a constant irrational number that is the result of dividing the circumference of a circle by its diameter. | |
Super square-root of 2 | [7] | 1.559610469... [8] | |
Liouville constant | 0.110001000000000000000001000... | ||
Champernowne constant | 0.12345678910111213141516... | This constant contains every number string inside it, as its decimals are just every number in order. (1,2,3,etc.) | |
Prouhet–Thue–Morse constant | 0.412454033640... | ||
Omega constant | 0.5671432904097838729999686622... | ||
Cahen's constant | 0.64341054629... | ||
Natural logarithm of 2 | ln 2 | 0.693147180559945309417232121458 | |
Lemniscate constant | 2.622057554292119810464839589891... | The ratio of the perimeter of Bernoulli's lemniscate to its diameter. | |
Tau | 6.283185307179586476925286766559... | The ratio of the circumference to a radius, and the number of radians in a complete circle; [9] [10] 2 π |
Some numbers are known to be irrational numbers, but have not been proven to be transcendental. This differs from the algebraic numbers, which are known not to be transcendental.
Name | Decimal expansion | Proof of irrationality | Reference of unknown transcendentality |
---|---|---|---|
ζ(3), also known as Apéry's constant | 1.202056903159594285399738161511449990764986292 | [11] | [12] |
Erdős–Borwein constant, E | 1.606695152415291763... | [13] [14] | [ citation needed ] |
Copeland–Erdős constant | 0.235711131719232931374143... | Can be proven with Dirichlet's theorem on arithmetic progressions or Bertrand's postulate (Hardy and Wright, p. 113) or Ramare's theorem that every even integer is a sum of at most six primes. It also follows directly from its normality. | [ citation needed ] |
Prime constant, ρ | 0.414682509851111660248109622... | Proof of the number's irrationality is given at prime constant. | [ citation needed ] |
Reciprocal Fibonacci constant, ψ | 3.359885666243177553172011302918927179688905133731... | [15] [16] | [17] |
For some numbers, it is not known whether they are algebraic or transcendental. The following list includes real numbers that have not been proved to be irrational, nor transcendental.
Name and symbol | Decimal expansion | Notes |
---|---|---|
Euler–Mascheroni constant, γ | 0.577215664901532860606512090082... [18] | Believed to be transcendental but not proven to be so. However, it was shown that at least one of and the Euler-Gompertz constant is transcendental. [19] [20] It was also shown that all but at most one number in an infinite list containing have to be transcendental. [21] [22] |
Euler–Gompertz constant, δ | 0.596 347 362 323 194 074 341 078 499 369... [23] | It was shown that at least one of the Euler-Mascheroni constant and the Euler-Gompertz constant is transcendental. [19] [20] |
Catalan's constant, G | 0.915965594177219015054603514932384110774... | It is not known whether this number is irrational. [24] |
Khinchin's constant, K0 | 2.685452001... [25] | It is not known whether this number is irrational. [26] |
1st Feigenbaum constant, δ | 4.6692... | Both Feigenbaum constants are believed to be transcendental, although they have not been proven to be so. [27] |
2nd Feigenbaum constant, α | 2.5029... | Both Feigenbaum constants are believed to be transcendental, although they have not been proven to be so. [27] |
Glaisher–Kinkelin constant, A | 1.28242712... | |
Backhouse's constant | 1.456074948... | |
Fransén–Robinson constant, F | 2.8077702420... | |
Lévy's constant,β | 1.18656 91104 15625 45282... | |
Mills' constant, A | 1.30637788386308069046... | It is not known whether this number is irrational.( Finch 2003 ) |
Ramanujan–Soldner constant, μ | 1.451369234883381050283968485892027449493... | |
Sierpiński's constant, K | 2.5849817595792532170658936... | |
Totient summatory constant | 1.339784... [28] | |
Vardi's constant, E | 1.264084735305... | |
Somos' quadratic recurrence constant, σ | 1.661687949633594121296... | |
Niven's constant, C | 1.705211... | |
Brun's constant, B2 | 1.902160583104... | The irrationality of this number would be a consequence of the truth of the infinitude of twin primes. |
Landau's totient constant | 1.943596... [29] | |
Brun's constant for prime quadruplets, B4 | 0.8705883800... | |
Viswanath's constant | 1.1319882487943... | |
Khinchin–Lévy constant | 1.1865691104... [30] | This number represents the probability that three random numbers have no common factor greater than 1. [31] |
Landau–Ramanujan constant | 0.76422365358922066299069873125... | |
C(1) | 0.77989340037682282947420641365... | |
Z(1) | −0.736305462867317734677899828925614672... | |
Heath-Brown–Moroz constant, C | 0.001317641... | |
Kepler–Bouwkamp constant,K' | 0.1149420448... | |
MRB constant,S | 0.187859... | It is not known whether this number is irrational. |
Meissel–Mertens constant, M | 0.2614972128476427837554268386086958590516... | |
Bernstein's constant, β | 0.2801694990... | |
Gauss–Kuzmin–Wirsing constant, λ1 | 0.3036630029... [32] | |
Hafner–Sarnak–McCurley constant,σ | 0.3532363719... | |
Artin's constant,CArtin | 0.3739558136... | |
S(1) | 0.438259147390354766076756696625152... | |
F(1) | 0.538079506912768419136387420407556... | |
Stephens' constant | 0.575959... [33] | |
Golomb–Dickman constant, λ | 0.62432998854355087099293638310083724... | |
Twin prime constant, C2 | 0.660161815846869573927812110014... | |
Feller–Tornier constant | 0.661317... [34] | |
Laplace limit, ε | 0.6627434193... [35] | |
Embree–Trefethen constant | 0.70258... |
Some real numbers, including transcendental numbers, are not known with high precision.
Hypercomplex number is a term for an element of a unital algebra over the field of real numbers. The complex numbers are often symbolised by a boldface C (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+2102ℂDOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL C), while the set of quaternions is denoted by a boldface H (or blackboard bold , Unicode U+210DℍDOUBLE-STRUCK CAPITAL H).
Transfinite numbers are numbers that are "infinite" in the sense that they are larger than all finite numbers, yet not necessarily absolutely infinite.
Physical quantities that appear in the universe are often described using physical constants.
Many languages have words expressing indefinite and fictitious numbers—inexact terms of indefinite size, used for comic effect, for exaggeration, as placeholder names, or when precision is unnecessary or undesirable. One technical term for such words is "non-numerical vague quantifier". [45] Such words designed to indicate large quantities can be called "indefinite hyperbolic numerals". [46]
An algebraic number is a number that is a root of a non-zero polynomial in one variable with integer coefficients. For example, the golden ratio, , is an algebraic number, because it is a root of the polynomial x2 − x − 1. That is, it is a value for x for which the polynomial evaluates to zero. As another example, the complex number is algebraic because it is a root of x4 + 4.
An integer is the number zero (0), a positive natural number, or the negation of a positive natural number. The negations or additive inverses of the positive natural numbers are referred to as negative integers. The set of all integers is often denoted by the boldface Z or blackboard bold .
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can be represented by symbols, called numerals; for example, "5" is a numeral that represents the number five. As only a relatively small number of symbols can be memorized, basic numerals are commonly organized in a numeral system, which is an organized way to represent any number. The most common numeral system is the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, which allows for the representation of any non-negative integer using a combination of ten fundamental numeric symbols, called digits. In addition to their use in counting and measuring, numerals are often used for labels, for ordering, and for codes. In common usage, a numeral is not clearly distinguished from the number that it represents.
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members. The number of elements is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in a sequence, and unlike a set, the order does matter. Formally, a sequence can be defined as a function from natural numbers to the elements at each position. The notion of a sequence can be generalized to an indexed family, defined as a function from an arbitrary index set.
In mathematics, a transcendental number is a real or complex number that is not algebraic: that is, not the root of a non-zero polynomial with integer coefficients. The best-known transcendental numbers are π and e. The quality of a number being transcendental is called transcendence.
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
In mathematics, a Riesel number is an odd natural number k for which is composite for all natural numbers n. In other words, when k is a Riesel number, all members of the following set are composite:
23 (twenty-three) is the natural number following 22 and preceding 24.
Positional notation, also known as place-value notation, positional numeral system, or simply place value, usually denotes the extension to any base of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. More generally, a positional system is a numeral system in which the contribution of a digit to the value of a number is the value of the digit multiplied by a factor determined by the position of the digit. In early numeral systems, such as Roman numerals, a digit has only one value: I means one, X means ten and C a hundred. In modern positional systems, such as the decimal system, the position of the digit means that its value must be multiplied by some value: in 555, the three identical symbols represent five hundreds, five tens, and five units, respectively, due to their different positions in the digit string.
In mathematics, the characteristic of a ring R, often denoted char(R), is defined to be the smallest positive number of copies of the ring's multiplicative identity (1) that will sum to the additive identity (0). If no such number exists, the ring is said to have characteristic zero.
In number theory, a colossally abundant number is a natural number that, in a particular, rigorous sense, has many divisors. Particularly, it is defined by a ratio between the sum of an integer's divisors and that integer raised to a power higher than one. For any such exponent, whichever integer has the highest ratio is a colossally abundant number. It is a stronger restriction than that of a superabundant number, but not strictly stronger than that of an abundant number.
In mathematics, the exponential of pieπ, also called Gelfond's constant, is the real number e raised to the power π.
In number theory, Artin's conjecture on primitive roots states that a given integer a that is neither a square number nor −1 is a primitive root modulo infinitely many primes p. The conjecture also ascribes an asymptotic density to these primes. This conjectural density equals Artin's constant or a rational multiple thereof.
In mathematics, a rational number is a number that can be expressed as the quotient or fraction of two integers, a numerator p and a non-zero denominator q. For example, is a rational number, as is every integer. The set of all rational numbers, also referred to as "the rationals", the field of rationals or the field of rational numbers is usually denoted by boldface Q, or blackboard bold
In mathematics, a real number is a number that can be used to measure a continuous one-dimensional quantity such as a distance, duration or temperature. Here, continuous means that pairs of values can have arbitrarily small differences. Every real number can be almost uniquely represented by an infinite decimal expansion.
In mathematics, the irrational numbers are all the real numbers that are not rational numbers. That is, irrational numbers cannot be expressed as the ratio of two integers. When the ratio of lengths of two line segments is an irrational number, the line segments are also described as being incommensurable, meaning that they share no "measure" in common, that is, there is no length, no matter how short, that could be used to express the lengths of both of the two given segments as integer multiples of itself.
In mathematics, a sequence of natural numbers is called a complete sequence if every positive integer can be expressed as a sum of values in the sequence, using each value at most once.
A mathematical constant is a number whose value is fixed by an unambiguous definition, often referred to by a special symbol, or by mathematicians' names to facilitate using it across multiple mathematical problems. Constants arise in many areas of mathematics, with constants such as e and π occurring in such diverse contexts as geometry, number theory, statistics, and calculus.