I was bored infront of google. There's one thing I don't understand. Why does 1299.22388^99 = 1.79769266 × 10^308 get calculated. But not 1299.22389^99? What's so special about 1.79769266 × 10^308? Happy Easter :)

The number format they use is an IEEE-754 double. This is a pretty standard format for programs that want to be able to store really big real numbers.

I'm probably going to say something wrong here, but anyway:

Numbers of this form roughly look like c * 2 ^ q, where c is a number between 0 and 2, and q has a maximum value of 1023.

So the highest number you can represent is around 2 ^ 1024. If you punch in the numbers on a really big calculator, you can see that 2 ^ 1024 is really close to 10^308 (the limit that you found).

More information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_754

I think you're right. I remember that number now. I disguise my embarrassment by declaring that this was a contest :P

Quote: Original post by 51mon
I think you're right. I remember that number now. I disguise my embarrassment by declaring that this was a contest :P

I guess that means I win! Hooray! Looking forward to having an old man deliver a giant novelty check to my door..

...more like a reality check. [lol]