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characteristic

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characteristic

In mathematics, the integral (whole-number) part of a logarithm. The fractional part is the mantissa.

For example, in base ten, 100 = 1, 101 = 10, 102 = 100, and so on; the powers to which 10 is raised are the characteristics. To determine the power to which 10 must be raised to obtain a number between 10 and 100, say 20 (2 × 10, or log 2 + log 10), the logarithm for 2 is found (0.3010), and the characteristic 1 (log 10) added to make 1.3010.



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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
"It bears the marks of that superb unconcern which is the characteristic of genius," replied the Ambitious Writer, contemptuously passing him by.
Fantastic-Fables by Bierce, Ambrose View in context
The industrious reader, indeed, might select out of these specimens from Steele, a picture, in minute detail, of the characteristic manners of that time.
The Guardian by Pater, Walter Horatio View in context
So reconstructed, the earliest period appears to us as a time of slow development in which the characteristic epic metre, diction, and structure grew up slowly from crude elements and were improved until the verge of maturity was reached.
Collection Of Hesiod, Homer and Homerica by Homer View in context
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