281474976710656

281474976710656 is the decimal representation of the mathematical value 2^48. As a power of two, it plays a frequent role in computing as a large, round boundary for binary addressing and storage.

In terms of data capacity, 2^48 bytes equal 256 tebibytes (TiB). In decimal terms, this is about 281.5 terabytes (TB). The distinction arises from using binary units (TiB) versus decimal units (TB).

Context and significance: 2^48 addresses form a 48-bit addressing space. In modern 64-bit architectures, such as x86-64, 48-bit canonical addressing is commonly used, yielding up to 256 TiB of virtual address space for a process, though the exact usable portion depends on the operating system and hardware. Some systems support larger physical address widths, enabling more memory to be addressed at the hardware level, even if the virtual address space remains limited.

Summary: 281474976710656 is a large, round binary quantity equal to 2^48 bytes. It is frequently cited in discussions of memory capacity, addressing limits, and binary-based storage calculations, representing 256 TiB of data.