Powers, roots and negative exponents
Calculate x to the power of y, including negative and fractional exponents. Useful for growth rates, compound interest and scientific work.
Exponents describe repeated multiplication, and they grow far faster than most people expect. That is why compound interest and viral spread are both exponent problems.
Fractional exponents are roots in disguise: raising to the power 0.5 is the same as taking a square root, and 1/3 gives a cube root.
The result of the base raised to your exponent Negative exponents, which produce reciprocals Fractional exponents for roots of any order Any non-zero number raised to the power 0 equals 1. Negative bases with fractional exponents can have no real answer — the square root of −4 is not a real number. What does a negative exponent mean? It gives the reciprocal. 2^-3 is 1 divided by 2³, which is 1/8 or 0.125.
Why is anything to the power of zero equal to 1? Because dividing powers subtracts exponents. 2³ ÷ 2³ is 2⁰, and any number divided by itself is 1.
How do I calculate a cube root? Raise to the power 1/3. Entering 27^(1/3) returns 3.
Why did I get an enormous number? Exponents escalate quickly. 2^64 is over 18 quintillion — the reason a 64-bit address space felt limitless when it was designed.
Worked example Doubling ten times
Input: 2^10
Output: 1024
Note: This is why a kilobyte is 1024 bytes and not 1000 — computing counts in powers of two.
