8 Jun
2013
8 Jun
'13
3:47 p.m.
16^16 = 2^64. We can estimate that. Every 10 powers of
2 is 3 powers of
10. So 2^64 ~= 2^4 * 10^18. Or about 1.6*10^19. According to my HP48 it's
actually 1.845*10^19.
This calculation is particularly well suited to my Texas Instruments
SR-22 desk calculator. 16^16 = (16^8)^2. With the calculator in HEX
mode, enter 100000000. Now square it by pressing X twice. Read 1. 10
in the display. That's 1x16^0x10. Now convert it to decimal with the
DEC key. The above number appears about a second later. There's
something about those 7-segment neon digits...
--
Jeff Woolsey {woolsey,jlw}(a){jlw,jxh}.com first.last(a){hp,gmail}.com
Spum bad keming.
Nature abhors a straight antenna, a clean lens, and unused storage capacity.
"Delete! Delete! OK!" -Dr. Bronner on disk space management
"Card sorting, Joel." -me, re Solitaire