8

Eight is a natural number that follows seven and precedes nine. It is the first cube number and a power of two (2^3).

In mathematics, eight is an even composite number with divisors 1, 2, 4, and 8. It equals 2 cubed, and it is the base of the octal numeral system; an octagon has eight sides.

In representations, eight is decimal 8, binary 1000, octal 10, hexadecimal 8, and Roman numerals VIII. The word eight derives from Old English eahta, from Proto-Germanic roots related to the Proto-Indo-European word for eight.

In science and technology, oxygen has atomic number 8. The octet rule in chemistry explains why many atoms form eight-electron configurations. In computing, eight bits form a byte, a fundamental unit of data.

Culturally, eight is considered lucky in many East Asian cultures due to phonetic similarity to words meaning wealth or fortune. The number eight is also associated with infinity when rotated 90 degrees, yielding the symbol ∞.