Thursday, 24 January 2013 / 0 comment(s) here



The English names for large numbers are coined from the Latin names for small numbers n by adding the ending -illion suggested by the name "million." Thus billion and trillion are coined from the Latin prefixes bi- (n = 2) and tri- (n = 3), respectively.


In the American system for naming large numbers, the name coined from the Latin number n applies to the number 103n+3. In a system traditional in many European countries, the same name applies to the number 106n. (In particular, a billion is 109 = 1 000 000 000 in the American system and 1012 = 1 000 000 000 000 in the European system.)

(The system used in the U.S. is not as logical as that used in other countries like England and France.)

The result of all this is widespread confusion. Anyone who uses the words "billion" and "trillion" internationally should make clear which meaning of those words is intended.

In science, the names of large numbers are usually avoided completely by using the appropriate SI prefixes. Thus 109 watts is a gigawatt and 1012 joules is a terajoule. Such terms cannot be mistaken.

There is no real hope of resolving the controversy in favor of either system. Americans are not likely to adopt the European nomenclature, and Europeans will always regard the American system as an imposition. However, it is possible to imagine a solution: junk both Latin-based systems and move to a Greek-based system in which, for n > 3, the Greek number n is used to generate a name for103. 

Here's the answer for our 'title' question: What comes after "Trillion"?
n =

103n =

American
name
European
name

SI prefix
Greek-based
name
(proposed)
3

109
billion
milliard

giga-
gillion
4

1012
trillion
billion

tera-
tetrillion
5

1015
quadrillion
billiard

peta-
pentillion
6

1018
quintillion
trillion

exa-
hexillion
7

1021
sextillion
trilliard

zetta-
heptillion
8

1024
septillion
quadrillion

yotta-
oktillion
9

1027
octillion
quadrilliard
ennillion
10

1030
nonillion
quintillion
dekillion
11

1033
decillion
quintilliard
hendekillion
12

1036
undecillion
sextillion
dodekillion
13

1039
duodecillion
sextilliard
trisdekillion
14

1042
tredecillion
septillion
tetradekillion
15

1045
quattuordecillion
septilliard
pentadekillion
16

1048
quindecillion
octillion
hexadekillion
17

1051
sexdecillion
octilliard
heptadekillion
18

1054
septendecillion
nonillion
oktadekillion
19

1057
octodecillion
nonilliard
enneadekillion
20

1060
novemdecillion
decillion
icosillion
21

1063
vigintillion
decilliard
icosihenillion
22

1066
unvigintillion
undecillion
icosidillion
23

1069
duovigintillion
undecilliard
icositrillion
24

1072
trevigintillion
duodecillion
icositetrillion
25

1075
quattuorvigintillion
duodecilliard
icosipentillion
26

1078
quinvigintillion
tredecillion
icosihexillion
27

1081
sexvigintillion
tredecilliard
icosiheptillion
28

1084
septenvigintillion
quattuordecillion
icosioktillion
29

1087
octovigintillion
quattuordecilliard
icosiennillion

30

1090

novemvigintillion

quindecillion

triacontillion

31

1093

trigintillion

quindecilliard

triacontahenillion
32

1096
untrigintillion
sexdecillion
triacontadillion
33

1099
duotrigintillion
sexdecilliard
triacontatrillion


This process can be continued indefinitely, but one has to stop somewhere. The name centillion (n = 100) has appeared in many dictionaries. A centillion is 10303 (1 followed by 303 zeroes) in the American system and a whopping 10600 (1 followed by 600 zeroes) in the European system.
Finally, there is the googol, the number 10100 (1 followed by 100 zeroes). Invented more for fun than for use, the googol lies outside the regular naming systems. The googol equals 10 duotrigintillion in the American system, 10 sexdecilliard in the European system, and 10 triacontatrillion in the proposed Greek-based system.
The googolplex (1 followed by a googol of zeroes) is far larger than any of the numbers discussed here.

Sources: Here and Here
Picture: Here

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