16 (sixteen) is the

natural number In mathematics, the natural numbers are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on, possibly excluding 0. Some start counting with 0, defining the natural numbers as the non-negative integers , while others start with 1, defining them as the positive in ...

following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth

power of two A power of two is a number of the form where is an integer, that is, the result of exponentiation with number 2, two as the Base (exponentiation), base and integer as the exponent. In the fast-growing hierarchy, is exactly equal to f_1^ ...

. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar.

Mathematics

16 is the ninth

composite number A composite number is a positive integer that can be formed by multiplying two smaller positive integers. Accordingly it is a positive integer that has at least one divisor other than 1 and itself. Every positive integer is composite, prime numb ...

, and a

square number In mathematics, a square number or perfect square is an integer that is the square (algebra), square of an integer; in other words, it is the multiplication, product of some integer with itself. For example, 9 is a square number, since it equals ...

: 4² = 4 × 4 (the first non-unitary fourth-power

prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

of the form ''p''⁴). It is the smallest number with exactly five

divisor In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a '' multiple'' of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisibl ...

s, its proper divisors being , , and . Sixteen is the only integer that equals ''m''^''n'' and ''n''^''m'', for some unequal integers ''m'' and ''n'' (

m=4

n=2

, or vice versa). It has this property because

2^=2\times 2

. It is also equal to ³2 (see

tetration In mathematics, tetration (or hyper-4) is an operation (mathematics), operation based on iterated, or repeated, exponentiation. There is no standard mathematical notation, notation for tetration, though Knuth's up arrow notation \uparrow \upa ...

). The aliquot sum of 16 is 15, within an

aliquot sequence In mathematics, an aliquot sequence is a sequence of positive integers in which each term is the sum of the proper divisors of the previous term. If the sequence reaches the number 1, it ends, since the sum of the proper divisors of 1 is 0. Def ...

of four composite members (16, 15, 9, 4, 3, 1, 0) that belong to the prime 3-aliquot tree. *Sixteen is the largest known integer , for which

2^n+1

is prime. *It is the first Erdős–Woods number. *There are 16 partially ordered sets with four unlabeled elements. 16 is the only number that can be both the perimeter and area of the same square, due to

4^

being equal to

4\times 4.

The

sedenion In abstract algebra, the sedenions form a 16-dimension of a vector space, dimensional commutative property, noncommutative and associative property, nonassociative algebra over a field, algebra over the real numbers, usually represented by the cap ...

s form a 16-dimensional

hypercomplex number In mathematics, hypercomplex number is a traditional term for an element (mathematics), element of a finite-dimensional Algebra over a field#Unital algebra, unital algebra over a field, algebra over the field (mathematics), field of real numbers. ...

system.

Hexadecimal

Sixteen is the base of the

hexadecimal Hexadecimal (also known as base-16 or simply hex) is a Numeral system#Positional systems in detail, positional numeral system that represents numbers using a radix (base) of sixteen. Unlike the decimal system representing numbers using ten symbo ...

number system, which is used extensively in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

Technology

* In some computer programming languages, the size in bits of certain data types *

16-bit computing 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two m ...

* A 16-bit integer can represent up to

65,536 65536 is the natural number following 65535 and preceding 65537. 65536 is a power of two: 2^ (2 to the 16th power). 65536 is the smallest number with exactly 17 divisors (but there are smaller numbers with more than 17 divisors; e.g., 180 ha ...

values. * In the

16-bit era In the history of video games, the fourth generation of video game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in Nort ...

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

microprocessor ran

16-bit application 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...

Culture

As a unit of measurement

A low

, 16 was used in weighing light objects in several cultures. Early civilizations utilized the

weighing scale A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, massometers, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal d ...

as a means to measure mass, which made splitting resources into equal parts a simple task. In the

imperial system The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed th ...

, 16

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...

s equivalates to one pound. Until the

State Council of the People's Republic of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

decreed a decimal conversion for currency in 1959, China equivalated 16 '' liǎng'' to one '' jīn''. Chinese Taoists did finger computation on the trigrams and hexagrams by counting the finger tips and joints of the fingers with the tip of the thumb. Each hand can count up to 16 in such manner. The Chinese abacus uses two upper beads to represent the 5s and 5 lower beads to represent the 1s, the 7 beads can represent a hexadecimal digit from 0 to 15 in each column.

Age 16

* A " sweet sixteen" is celebrated by many sixteen-year-old girls in the United States and Canada. It is a

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

celebration that

tradition A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common e ...

ally marks a girl's transition into womanhood. * In the United States and Canada, 16 is the most common

age of sexual consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

, as well as the age in the United Kingdom and several European countries. Sixteen is also the minimum age for being allowed a beginner's

driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...

with parental consent in many US states and in Canada.

References

External links

* {{Integers, zero Integers