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affy1
join:2002-11-08
North York, ON

affy1

Member

Largest Number . . . Googolplex???

Just wonding what is the largest number with a "common name". The highest I ever heard was a Googolplex. Which is "1" with a googol of "0", or 10 to the power of 10 to the power of a hundred. (since googol is a "1" with a hudred "0". Well post your oppions.

This is a site on googleplex
http://www.procrastinators.org/googolplex.html

MHOyet2B
join:2000-09-23
Eureka, CA

MHOyet2B

Member

I haven't seen the word 'Googolplex' mentioned for a while.
It's probably the highest number with a 'common name' since it's a relatively useless value. That is, I've never heard of any really practical use for the number. I could be wrong but I think that even the number of electrons in the 'known universe' doesn't come close to the value of a 'googolplex'.
(Right before I posted this, I remembered wondering if there were any estimates anywhere concerning the total number of all CPU cycles that occur daily on all the computers running everywhere in the world. I really don't want to strain my brain about it, but it could be that we may someday reach the point where the world's computers are operating on a 'googol-hertz' basis. Maybe the 'procrastinators' would like to take a look at that possibility. However, I think we're still awfully far away from anything in the 'googolplex-hertz' realm.)

...Returning to numbers and names: even without involving 'scientific notation' it's fairly easy job to construct a higher number value than a googolplex - no doubt just as useless a value as a googleplex too.
The simplest example of a higher (non 'common name') value would be a 'Googolplex plus one'.
So, if you were so inclined, you yourself could easily assign whatever name you liked to a number such as 'a googolplex to the googolplexth (power)'.
I dunno... name it a 'golgoogolplex'...
Then you'd just have to wait for the term you've invented for this somewhat absurd number to come into 'common' usage.
However, you may have to wait a few googol years to be recognized for your effort.

fred
tdkyo
join:2002-12-07
Rochester, NY

tdkyo to affy1

Member

to affy1
Well if you count every single electron plus proton in our solarsystem, won't that addup to googolplex?

tschmidt
MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH

tschmidt to affy1

MVM

to affy1
Here is a list of SI prefixes they range from 10e24 yotta to 10e-24 yocto.

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to tdkyo

Premium Member

to tdkyo
Not even close, according to Carl Sagan, who explored
this subject in one of the episodes of his series, Cosmos.
He said that the total number of particles in the entire
known universe is about 1x10^80, slightly less than a
Googol, and nowhere near a Googolplex. The episode in
question was called The Lives Of The Stars, and in it Carl
tries to write on a roll of paper a Googolplex. This was
done on the campus of Cambridge University in England - he
goes on to say that a piece of paper big enough to fit all
the numbers in a Googolplex would not fit in the known
universe. Furthermore, he says that both a Googol and a
Googolplex are miniscule in comparison to infinity, which
is more a concept than a number. In fact, he says,
infinity is exactly as far from a Googolplex as is the
number 1.

Warzau
Premium Member
join:2000-10-26
Naperville, IL

Warzau

Premium Member

I remember that show, then they rolled out the roll, correct?

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to affy1

Premium Member

to affy1
Yes, that was it. Carl's exercise in futility, as he
put it.

sechs
Premium Member
join:2001-07-19
Wrong Coast

sechs to tschmidt

Premium Member

to tschmidt
said by tschmidt:
Here is a list of SI prefixes they range from 10e24 yotta to 10e-24 yocto.
Luckily, we computer geeks don't stick to that. We talk about zettabytes, zottabytes, and brontobytes, where:

1024 Exabytes = 1 Zettabyte
1024 Zettabytes = 1 Zottabyte
1024 Zottabytes = 1 Brontobyte