A power of two is a number of the form 2n where n is an integer, that is, the result of exponentiation with number two as the base and integer n as the exponent.
In a context where only integers are considered, n is restricted to non-negative values,[1] so there are 1, 2, and 2 multiplied by itself a certain number of times.[2]
The first ten powers of 2 for non-negative values of n are:
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, … (sequence A000079 in the OEIS)
Because two is the base of the binary numeral system, powers of two are common in computer science. Written in binary, a power of two always has the form 100…000 or 0.00…001, just like a power of 10 in the decimal system.
Visualization of powers of two from 1 to 1024 (20 to 210)
Contents
1 Computer science
2 Mersenne and Fermat primes
3 Euclid’s Elements, Book IX
4 Table of values
5 Powers of 1024
6 Powers of two whose exponents are powers of two
7 Selected powers of two
8 Other properties
9 Powers of two in music theory
10 See also