# 3 ways to make big numbers readable in Ruby

Piotr Jurewicz
·Nov 10, 2021·

1 min read

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Today, I came across the following method in my old code. (This comes from an application supporting calculations in the construction of concrete floors).

  def l_factor
((bending_stiffness * 10000000000) / k) ** 0.25
end


This big number looks so unreadable. I started moving the mouse cursor and counting zeros. There are ten of them. I was wondering how I could write it better. And actually, I found 3 ways to make it more readable:

### 🔍 Underscore notation

10_000_000_000


You can format a number with grouped thousands using an underscore delimiter. Ruby lets you insert underscores anywhere inside integers.

### 🧮 Expotential notation

10**10


You would just read it like: $$10^{10}$$

### 🧑‍🔬 Scientific notation

1e10


This one is my best choice. It actually means: $$1\cdot10^{10}$$ and this notation is commonly used by scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.

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