vigintillion

A vigintillion is a very large number, equal to one followed by 63 zeros in the short scale system of naming numbers, or one followed by 120 zeros in the long scale system. The short scale is commonly used in English-speaking countries. In scientific notation, a vigintillion is represented as 10^63.

The name "vigintillion" is derived from Latin, combining "viginti" meaning twenty and the suffix "-illion" used for large numbers. This naming convention follows a pattern where prefixes indicate the power of a thousand. For example, a nonillion is 10^30, a decillion is 10^33, and so on.

Numbers of this magnitude are rarely encountered in everyday life. They are more likely to appear in theoretical contexts, such as in cosmology when discussing the number of particles in the observable universe, or in advanced mathematics.

It is important to distinguish between the short scale and long scale. In the short scale, a vigintillion is 1000^21. In the long scale, however, a vigintillion is 1000^40, which is equivalent to 10^120. The short scale is more prevalent globally, especially in finance and science.

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