5e12

5e12, read as five times ten to the twelfth power, is the decimal number 5,000,000,000,000. It is a standard value in scientific notation used to express large quantities concisely in science, engineering, computing, and finance.

In mathematics, 5e12 is an integer and can be factored as 2^12 × 5^13. As a large composite number, it has multiple divisors and is not prime. Its representation in different bases is straightforward, but its practical use often comes from its magnitude rather than its factorization.

In common units, 5e12 bytes equals 5 terabytes (decimal). In binary-based units, it is about 4.55 tebibytes. This illustrates how scientific notation helps bridge everyday counts with precise storage measures. In other domains, 5e12 can describe quantities such as seconds, meters, or particle counts, depending on the context.

For example, 5e12 seconds is roughly 158,700 years, a timescale encountered in long-term climate or geological studies. Fifty times ten to the twelfth meters is approximately 33 astronomical units, about the distance from the Sun to Neptune’s orbit, illustrating how large-scale astronomical distances can be expressed compactly with exponential notation.

In data science and computation, 5e12 may appear as a scale for counts, iterations, or data elements in simulations, databases, or log files. Its use highlights the convenience and clarity of scientific notation when dealing with very large numbers.

See also: scientific notation, terabyte, tebibyte, astronomical unit, light-year.