Printing Information Guide

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Printing Option -- Engineering Notation and Scientific Notation

In drasil, Engineering Notation is currently set as default.

Normalized Scientific Notation

In scientific notation all numbers are written in the form, m*10^n. (m times ten raised to the power of n), where the exponent n is an integer, and the coefficient m is any real number, called the significand or mantissa. In normalized scientific notation (called "standard form" in the UK), the exponent n is chosen so that the absolute value of m remains at least one but less than ten (1 ≤ |m| < 10). Thus 350 is written as 3.5×10^2. This form allows easy comparison of numbers, as the exponent n gives the number's order of magnitude. In normalized notation, the exponent n is negative for a number with absolute value between 0 and 1 (e.g. 0.5 is written as 5×10^−1). The 10 and exponent are often omitted when the exponent is 0.

Engineering Notation

Engineering notation (often named "ENG" display mode on scientific calculators) differs from normalized scientific notation in that the exponent n is restricted to multiples of 3. Consequently, the absolute value of m is in the range 1 ≤ |m| < 1000, rather than 1 ≤ |m| < 10. Though similar in concept, engineering notation is rarely called scientific notation. Engineering notation allows the numbers to explicitly match their corresponding SI prefixes, which facilitates reading and oral communication. For example, 12.5×10^−9 m can be read as "twelve-point-five nanometers" and written as 12.5 nm, while its scientific notation equivalent 1.25×10^−8 m would likely be read out as "one-point-two-five times ten-to-the-negative-eight meters".

References: Engineering Notation Wiki, Numbers in Electrical Engineering, Notation Calculator