My first newbie WP 34S question

[Dieter]

(01-09-2014 04:43 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  I have found some curious differences between the number ranges in the 34S .vs. the 30b, such as the maximum real number in the 34S is 1E384, whereas in the 30b it is 1E499. Presumably, this is due to differences in word size ?

Compared to usual HP calculators, the 34s uses a completely different intermal number format. In standard precision mode (SP) the 34s works with 16 digits (as opposed to 10 or 12 in most HP calculators). In this mode, real numbers less than \(10^{385}\) are fine. The lower limit is \(10^{-383}\). Below this value the number of valid digits continuously decreases with every power of ten. For instance, at \(10^{-389}\) six digits are lost so that 10 valid digits remain.

If all this is not sufficient, there is an optional double precision mode (please read the manual). Here, the 34s works with 34 significant digits (however, not all functions return results with that accuracy). In this mode, the working range is \(10^{-6143} \le x \lt 10^{6145}\).

Dieter