What is the smallest decimal that can be represented using IEEE754 single precision?










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Is seems like it would be IE-38, which would make the exponent 127-127. But when I add 1E10 and 1E-32, I get 1E10 which makes me think that 1E-32 is so small it's not being properly represented.










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    1















    Is seems like it would be IE-38, which would make the exponent 127-127. But when I add 1E10 and 1E-32, I get 1E10 which makes me think that 1E-32 is so small it's not being properly represented.










    share|improve this question
























      1












      1








      1








      Is seems like it would be IE-38, which would make the exponent 127-127. But when I add 1E10 and 1E-32, I get 1E10 which makes me think that 1E-32 is so small it's not being properly represented.










      share|improve this question














      Is seems like it would be IE-38, which would make the exponent 127-127. But when I add 1E10 and 1E-32, I get 1E10 which makes me think that 1E-32 is so small it's not being properly represented.







      math architecture ieee-754






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      asked Nov 15 '18 at 1:08









      ShagalabagalaShagalabagala

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          You are mixing two different terms:



          • minimal value representable in given format (~10^-38) and


          • machine epsilon - such minimal value that 1.0 + eps != 1.0, for single precision it is about 2^-23

          For bigger value 1e10 minimal summand is ~1e10 * macheps



          Simplified example: for 4 decimal digits you can represent values 100.0 and 0.001, but 100.0 + 0.001 = 100.0 because true sum 100.001 cannot fit into 4 decimal places.






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            1 Answer
            1






            active

            oldest

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            1 Answer
            1






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes









            2














            You are mixing two different terms:



            • minimal value representable in given format (~10^-38) and


            • machine epsilon - such minimal value that 1.0 + eps != 1.0, for single precision it is about 2^-23

            For bigger value 1e10 minimal summand is ~1e10 * macheps



            Simplified example: for 4 decimal digits you can represent values 100.0 and 0.001, but 100.0 + 0.001 = 100.0 because true sum 100.001 cannot fit into 4 decimal places.






            share|improve this answer



























              2














              You are mixing two different terms:



              • minimal value representable in given format (~10^-38) and


              • machine epsilon - such minimal value that 1.0 + eps != 1.0, for single precision it is about 2^-23

              For bigger value 1e10 minimal summand is ~1e10 * macheps



              Simplified example: for 4 decimal digits you can represent values 100.0 and 0.001, but 100.0 + 0.001 = 100.0 because true sum 100.001 cannot fit into 4 decimal places.






              share|improve this answer

























                2












                2








                2







                You are mixing two different terms:



                • minimal value representable in given format (~10^-38) and


                • machine epsilon - such minimal value that 1.0 + eps != 1.0, for single precision it is about 2^-23

                For bigger value 1e10 minimal summand is ~1e10 * macheps



                Simplified example: for 4 decimal digits you can represent values 100.0 and 0.001, but 100.0 + 0.001 = 100.0 because true sum 100.001 cannot fit into 4 decimal places.






                share|improve this answer













                You are mixing two different terms:



                • minimal value representable in given format (~10^-38) and


                • machine epsilon - such minimal value that 1.0 + eps != 1.0, for single precision it is about 2^-23

                For bigger value 1e10 minimal summand is ~1e10 * macheps



                Simplified example: for 4 decimal digits you can represent values 100.0 and 0.001, but 100.0 + 0.001 = 100.0 because true sum 100.001 cannot fit into 4 decimal places.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Nov 15 '18 at 2:46









                MBoMBo

                49.8k23051




                49.8k23051





























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