Scientific Notation Converter
Convert between decimal numbers, scientific notation, and engineering notation instantly. Auto-detects input format.
How to Use the Scientific Notation Converter
1
Enter Your Number
Type or paste a decimal number (e.g., 1234) or scientific notation (e.g., 1.234e3 or 1.234\u00d710\u00b3). The tool auto-detects which format you entered.
2
Click Convert
Hit the Convert button or press Enter. Your number is instantly processed in your browser with no data sent to any server.
3
Review All Formats
See your number in scientific notation, engineering notation, E notation, and written in words. Copy any result with one click.
SI Prefix Reference
Engineering notation uses exponents that are multiples of 3, matching common SI prefixes. This table shows the most frequently used prefixes.
| Prefix | Symbol | Power | Decimal | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nano | n | 10\u22129 | 0.000000001 | 1 nm = 10\u207b\u2079 m |
| Micro | \u00b5 | 10\u22126 | 0.000001 | 1 \u00b5m = 10\u207b\u2076 m |
| Milli | m | 10\u22123 | 0.001 | 1 mm = 10\u207b\u00b3 m |
| Centi | c | 10\u22122 | 0.01 | 1 cm = 10\u207b\u00b2 m |
| Deci | d | 10\u22121 | 0.1 | 1 dm = 10\u207b\u00b9 m |
| Kilo | k | 103 | 1,000 | 1 km = 10\u00b3 m |
| Mega | M | 106 | 1,000,000 | 1 MHz = 10\u2076 Hz |
| Giga | G | 109 | 1,000,000,000 | 1 GB = 10\u2079 bytes |
| Tera | T | 1012 | 1,000,000,000,000 | 1 TB = 10\u00b9\u00b2 bytes |
Frequently Asked Questions
Scientific notation expresses numbers as a × 10b where a (the mantissa or coefficient) is between 1 and 10. The exponent b indicates how many places the decimal point was moved. It is commonly used in science, engineering, and mathematics to represent very large or very small numbers concisely. For example, the speed of light (299,792,458 m/s) is written as 2.99792458 × 108 m/s.
Engineering notation is a variation of scientific notation where the exponent is always a multiple of 3. This aligns with common SI prefixes like kilo (10³), mega (10⁶), giga (10⁹), milli (10⁻³), micro (10⁻⁶), and nano (10⁻⁹). For example, 0.000047 is written as 47 × 10⁻⁶ (47 micro) rather than 4.7 × 10⁻⁵ in standard scientific notation. This makes it easier to relate to real-world units.
To convert a decimal number to scientific notation: 1) Move the decimal point left or right until only one non-zero digit remains to its left. 2) Count how many places you moved the decimal — that becomes the exponent. Moving left gives a positive exponent (large numbers); moving right gives a negative exponent (small numbers). 3) Remove trailing zeros from the mantissa. For example, 4,500,000 becomes 4.5 × 10⁶ (decimal moved 6 places left).
E notation (also called scientific E notation) is a compact way to write scientific notation where the "× 10n" part is replaced with "e" followed by the exponent. For example, 1.23 × 10⁴ is written as 1.23e4 (or 1.23E4). It is widely used in programming languages (Python, JavaScript, Java), calculators, spreadsheets, and data formats to represent large and small numbers in a text-friendly format that does not require superscripts or special characters.
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