The biggest number in the world : a journey to the edge of mathematics

The weird and wonderful quest for unfathomably large numbers From cells in our bodies to measuring the universe, big numbers are everywhere We all know that numbers go on forever, that you could spend your life counting and never reach the end of the line, so there can’t be such a thing as a ‘biggest number’. Or can there? To find out, David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee embark on an epic quest, revealing the answers to questions like: are there more grains of sand on Earth or stars in the universe? Is there enough paper on Earth to write out the digits of a googolplex? And what is a googolplex? Then things get serious. Enter the strange realm between the finite and the infinite, and float through a universe where the rules we cling to no longer apply. Encounter the highest number computable, infinite kinds of infinity and ask whether one infinity can be greater than another. At every turn, a cast of wild and wonderful characters threatens the status quo with their ideas, and each time the numbers get larger. From cells in our bodies to measuring the universe, big numbers are everywhere We all know that numbers go on forever, that you could spend your life counting and never reach the end of the line, so there can’t be such a thing as a ‘biggest number’. Or can there? To find out, David Darling and Agnijo Banerjee embark on an epic quest, revealing the answers to questions like: are there more grains of sand on Earth or stars in the universe? Is there enough paper on Earth to write out the digits of a googolplex? And what is a googolplex? Then things get serious. Enter the strange realm between the finite and the infinite, and float through a universe where the rules we cling to no longer apply. Encounter the highest number computable and infinite kinds of infinity. At every turn, a cast of wild and wonderful characters threatens the status quo with their ideas, and each time the numbers get larger. Introduction Chapter 1 • Of Sand and Stars Chapter 2 • At the Limits of Reality Chapter 3 • Maths Unbound Chapter 4 • Up, Up and Away Chapter 5 • G Whizz Chapter 6 • Conway’s Chains Chapter 7 • Ackermann and the Power of Recursion Chapter 8 • Figure This – If You Can Chapter 9 • Infinite Matters Chapter 10 • Growing Fast Chapter 11 • Does Not Compute! Chapter 12 • The Strange World of the Googologist Chapter 13 • Bridge to Beyond Chapter 14 • The Biggest Number of All Acknowledgements Bibliography Useful websites and webpages References About the Authors Copyright Page