Decimal to Scientific Notation Converter

Convert decimal numbers to scientific notation. Essential for working with very large or very small numbers in science and engineering.

Input (Decimal)
Enter a decimal number
Output (Scientific)
Scientific notation

What is Scientific Notation?

Scientific notation is a way of expressing very large or very small numbers in a compact form using powers of 10.

Format

Scientific notation follows the pattern: a × 10^b (or a e b in programming)

Where:

  • a is a number between 1 and 10 (the coefficient)
  • b is an integer (the exponent)

Why Use Scientific Notation?

Common Use Cases:

  • Physics and chemistry calculations
  • Astronomy (distances in space)
  • Microbiology (sizes of cells and bacteria)
  • Computer science (very large or small values)
  • Engineering and scientific computing

Examples:

Large Numbers:

  • 1234567 = 1.234567 × 10^6 or 1.234567e6
  • 300000000 (speed of light in m/s) = 3.0 × 10^8
  • 6022000000000000000000000 (Avogadro's number) ≈ 6.022 × 10^23

Small Numbers:

  • 0.00001 = 1.0 × 10^-5
  • 0.000000001 = 1.0 × 10^-9

Benefits:

  • Easier to read and write very large/small numbers
  • Simplifies multiplication and division
  • Maintains precision
  • Universal format in scientific computing