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Create your own custom equation!

Posted 11 years ago
Try clicking on this: 337108492359692559156524580864/4738381338321616895 in base 36

Once you've done that, in the Result pod, click on the "Hide block form" button, then click the "More digits" button 2 or 3 times.

It's not hard to make your own custom equation like this.

1) Choose a short, simple phrase, such as your name. I'll use "Wolfram Alpha" for this demo.

2) In Wolfram Alpha, type a 0, followed by the first half of your phrase, then a period, then the second half of your phrase, followed by your phrase repeated several times more (without the period), followed by _36.

Example: I typed in:
0wolfram.alphawolframalphawolframalphawolframalpha_36

(Note: The repetition lets Wolfram Alpha know that you want an endlessly repeating fraction.)

3) Click on the equals sign in Wolfram Alpha (or otherwise start it processing. It will give you the base 10 equivalent of the base 36 number you just entered. Use the base 10 number as a new input, even if it's in scientific notation.

Example: I got 7.1144230126294527620001418517186343831769291836685002156560604475632998221×10^10 for the entry above, so I used that as an input.

4) The base 10 number, when processed, should give a rationalized fraction as a result. You're almost done! Just use that fraction as a new input, followed by the phrase "in base 36", just as in the example link above!

Example: From the number in step 3, the equation I got was 337108492359692559156524580864/4738381338321616895, so I used that as a new input with the phrase "in base 36" added, as seen above!

As long as people know to click the "Hide block form" and "More digits" buttons in the result pod, you'll have a custom equation for almost any short phrase!

Inspired by XKCD #10, I created this amusing equation.

Can you create your name in this way? What other phrases or uses can you find with this technique?
POSTED BY: Scott Cram
5 Replies
Very nice!
POSTED BY: Luc Barthelet
Pretty wild.

Too bad there isn't a way to get the closest match to the phrase.  It will just match the leftmost lettters.
POSTED BY: Todd Rowland
Posted 11 years ago
Interesting idea, Todd!

I tried it starting with 0.summersummersummersummer_36, and wound up with this impressive-looking result!
POSTED BY: Scott Cram
Another fun thing to try is the possible closed forms, e.g.,

type "0.summer_36 in base 10" and then click on the result.  There is a pod for possible closed forms.  You might want to click More.   These approximations can then be converted to base 36, click Hide blocks, etc. as in Scott's post. Usually the approximation only will properly give you the first few letters, but these can be quite fancy compressions of your phrase, well beyond the rational.
POSTED BY: Todd Rowland
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