googolplex
googolplex Lexical Profile
googolplex Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The number 10 raised to the power of one googol, mathematically expressed as 10^(10^100), or 1 followed by a googol of zeros.
"Because the observable universe contains an estimated 10^80 elementary particles, there is not enough matter in existence to physically write down a googolplex in standard decimal notation."
An unimaginably large, though mathematically finite, quantity or number.
"The child proudly told his parents that he loved them a googolplex times over, grasping at the absolute largest number he had ever heard of."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although unimaginably large and impossible to write out in full decimal notation within the physical universe, a googolplex is a strictly finite number and should not be confused with mathematical infinity.
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 1920 by Milton Sirotta, the nine-year-old nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner. Sirotta originally proposed it as 'one, followed by writing zeros until you get tired', which Kasner later mathematically formalized as ten raised to the power of a googol.