496 (four hundred
ndninety-six) 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
495 and preceding
497.
In mathematics
496 is most notable for being a
perfect number
In number theory, a perfect number is a positive integer that is equal to the sum of its positive proper divisors, that is, divisors excluding the number itself. For instance, 6 has proper divisors 1, 2 and 3, and 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, so 6 is a perfec ...
, and one of the earliest numbers to be recognized as such. 496 is also a
harmonic divisor number.
The group
''E''8 has
real dimension 496.
In physics
The number 496 is a very important number in
superstring theory. In 1984,
Michael Green and
John H. Schwarz realized that one of the necessary conditions for a superstring theory to make sense is that the
dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a mathematical space (or object) is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus, a line has a dimension of one (1D) because only one coo ...
of the
gauge group of
type I string theory must be 496. The group is therefore
SO(32). Their discovery started the
first superstring revolution. It was realized in 1985 that the
heterotic string can admit another possible gauge group, namely
E8 x E8.
Telephone numbers
The UK's
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-rang ...
reserves telephone numbers in many dialing areas in the 496 local block for fictional purposes, such as 0114 496-1234.
See also
*
AD 496
References
Integers
{{Num-stub