How Do You Say, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000?

Daily Mail Report:

A campaign to name the number 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 'hella' is attracting strong support from scientists.

An online petition started in California - where the word 'hella' is slang for 'many' - is calling for the word to become an internationally recognised prefix, joining the likes of mega, kilo and giga.

The word would apply to figures with 27 zeros after the first digit.

Count on us: A group of maths fanatics have started a petition to prefix a digit with 27 zeroes with the word 'hella'

Supporters of the campaign believe recent breakthroughs in science mean the International System of Units (SI) needs to go further with its classification of long numbers.

More than 20,000 people - including scientists and students - have signed up to a petition on Facebook.

The largest number with a recognised designated prefix is a 'yotta' - a digit with 24 zeroes. It was recognised by the International Committee for Weights and Measures in 1991 along with zetta, for 21 zeroes.

Campaign organiser Austin Sendek, from the University of California, said the name hella would be an appropriate choice.

So, next time when some one asks, "What the hell is a hella?"


You'll know it's, 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000