Convert numbers to and from scientific notation with precision control and engineering notation support.
Type a number in standard or scientific notation form.
View the number converted between standard and scientific notation.
Click copy to use the converted notation in your work.
Scientific notation exists to keep very large and very small numbers readable, and this tool performs the shift in both directions: enter a plain decimal and get its normalized a x 10^n form, or enter an exponent expression and get the expanded decimal. Precision control rounds the coefficient to a chosen number of significant digits, and engineering notation forces the exponent to a multiple of three, matching the kilo-, mega-, and milli- prefixes used on real components. The first surprise for most users is the exponent's sign: a number under 1, such as 0.0004, carries a negative exponent (4 x 10^-4), not a positive one.
A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.
Input
0.0001234
Expected output
1.234 x 10^-4 (engineering notation: 123.4 x 10^-6)
The decimal point shifts 4 places to the right to sit after the first non-zero digit, and a rightward shift makes the exponent negative, giving 1.234 x 10^-4. Engineering notation forces the exponent to the nearest multiple of 3 (-6), which rescales the coefficient to 123.4.
The tool positions the decimal point so exactly one non-zero digit sits to its left, then counts the shift. Moving the point left raises the exponent; moving it right lowers it. So 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000 becomes 6.022 x 10^23 (23 places left), while 0.0001234 becomes 1.234 x 10^-4 (4 places right). Numbers between 1 and 10 keep exponent zero.
Precision control keeps a set number of significant digits and rounds the last one, carrying into the exponent when necessary: 999.9 at 3 digits becomes 1.00 x 10^3, not 1000. Engineering notation instead pins the exponent to a multiple of 3, so 0.0001234 reads 123.4 x 10^-6, a coefficient between 1 and 1000, which lines up with milli-, micro-, and nano- prefixes.
The exponent tells you which way and how far the decimal point moved. 0.0001234 is below 1, so the point moves right 4 places, and a rightward move gives a negative exponent. A positive 10^4 would mean 10,000, a number four places above 1; getting this sign backwards is the most common conversion error.
Yes, the reverse conversion shifts the point 23 places right, giving 602,200,000,000,000,000,000,000, a 24-digit string. The tool will produce it, but the expanded form is usually not what you want in a document: exponent form exists precisely because full decimals of extreme values are unreadable and easy to mistype.
The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.
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