Steinhaus polygon notation

In mathematics, Steinhaus's polygon notation is a means of expressing certain large numbers.

means nⁿ

means "n in n triangles"

means "n in n squares"

Steinhaus called Mega and Megiston. Note that is already a very large number, since = square(square(2)) = square(triangle(triangle(2)) = square(triangle(2²)) = square(triangle(4)) = square(4⁴) = square(256) = triangle(triangle(triangle(...triangle(256)...))) [256 triangles] = triangle(triangle(triangle(...triangle(256²⁵⁶)...))) [255 triangles] = triangle(triangle(triangle(...triangle(3.2 × 10⁶¹⁶)...))) [254 triangles] = ...

See also

• Conway chained arrow
• Knuth's up-arrow notation
• Moser polygon notation

• Factoid on Big Numbers