A googolplex expressed in factorial form?

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  • Thread starter Thread starter Saracen Rue
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around expressing a googolplex in factorial form, specifically exploring the relationship between factorials and the gamma function. Participants are attempting to determine the value of 'n' such that n! equals 10^{10^{100}}.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the factorial form of a googolplex.
  • Another participant suggests calculating the inverse gamma function to find 'n' such that n! = 10^{10^{100}}, providing an approximation that n is around a googol.
  • A later reply confirms the initial inquiry about finding 'n' and expresses gratitude for the assistance provided.
  • One participant mentions attempting to use Wolfram Alpha for a solution but encountered limitations, and shares a guessed value for 'n' expressed as a large factorial.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the exact value of 'n' or the method to express a googolplex in factorial form, with multiple approaches and approximations presented.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the approximation methods used and the potential for varying interpretations of the original question regarding factorial representation.

Saracen Rue
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Does anybody know what the factorial form of a googolplex would be?
 
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So you're asking to calculate the inverse gamma function, since the gamma function and the factorial are closely related. i.e. you want to solve for n in
n!=10^{10^{100}}

I can give you a quick start on the approximate magnitude of n. Since a crude approximation is n!\approx n^n, then choosing n=10^{100} gives us
n^n=\left(10^{100}\right)^{\left(10^{100}\right)}=10^{100\times 10^{100}}=10^{10^{102}}\approx 10^{10^{100}}

hence n is somewhere in the ballpark of a googol.

Unless of course, you meant something else by your OP. Maybe you were asking what 10^{10^{100}}! is?
 
Mentallic said:
So you're asking to calculate the inverse gamma function, since the gamma function and the factorial are closely related. i.e. you want to solve for n in
n!=10^{10^{100}}

I can give you a quick start on the approximate magnitude of n. Since a crude approximation is n!\approx n^n, then choosing n=10^{100} gives us
n^n=\left(10^{100}\right)^{\left(10^{100}\right)}=10^{100\times 10^{100}}=10^{10^{102}}\approx 10^{10^{100}}

hence n is somewhere in the ballpark of a googol.

Unless of course, you meant something else by your OP. Maybe you were asking what 10^{10^{100}}! is?

Yes I was asking what 'n' would have been, and thank you for helping.
 
I tried to get Wolfram Alpha to solve but it exceeded the standard calculation time - maybe someone with a pro account can try it.

Anyway just through guessing I managed to get 102483838377090000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000! (1.0248383837709e+98!) as an answer.
 
Last edited:

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