42 number

42 is the natural number following 41 and followed by 43.

Template:Numbers 40s
Cardinal	forty-two
Ordinal	42nd (forty-second)
Factorization	2 × 3 × 7
Divisors	2, 3, 6, 7, 14, 21
Roman numeral	XLII
Binary	101010
Hexadecimal	2A
IEEE Float	42.0 = 42280000 hexadecimal
Hebrew	מב (Mem Bet)

In mathematics

This composite number's factorization makes it a sphenic number. It is also the third 15-gonal number, a Catalan number, a meandric number, an open meandric number, a Harshad number and a self number. It is bracketed by twin primes.

In astronomy

• Messier object M42, a magnitude 5.0 diffuse nebula in the constellation Orion, also known as the Orion Nebula
• The New General Catalogue object NGC 42, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Pegasus
• The Saros number of the solar eclipse series which began on 1577 BC April 28 and ended on 297 BC June 5. The duration of Saros series 42 was 1280.1 years, and it contained 72 solar eclipses.
• The Saros number of the lunar eclipse series which began on 1293 BC January 24 and ended on 59 April 15. The duration of Saros series 42 was 1352.2 years, and it contained 76 lunar eclipses.
• Gliese 42 is a magnitude 7.17 K3 V orange dwarf nearby star (14.5 pc) in Sculptor, also known as HD 5133, CD-31°325, G269-049, GCTP 177.00, and LHS 1163.
• Ross 42 is a magnitude 11.52 dM4 e red dwarf nearby star (14.1 pc) in Orion, also known as Gliese 206, G097-047, and GCTP 1259.00.
• The planet Uranus' north and south poles face the sun 42 years before switching, (example) the north pole experiences 42 years of summer and 42 years of winter and vice vera

In religion

• In the ancient Chinese text the Dao De Jing by Lao Tse the chapter 42 is an explanation of the universe.
• The number of men of Beth-azmaveth in the Census of men of Israel upon return from exile. (Holy Bible, Ezra 2:24)
• The number of months the Beast will hold dominion over the Earth. (Holy Bible, Revelation 13:5)
• The number of generations recorded between Abraham and Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. (Holy Bible, Matthew 1:17)
• The maximum total number received of any one present in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas.
• There are 42 principles of Ma'at.

In pop culture

42 (forty-two)

The number 42 is The Ultimate Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything, according to Douglas Adams' book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Numerous others have parodied the already facetiously portrayed mysticism of 42 and it is speculated that the following references are derived from Adams' original use:

• The second 16-bit word of every TIFF image file, used together with the first word to indicate byte order.
• A common metasyntactic variable used by programmers.
• Fox Mulder, a character from the The X-Files television series, has this apartment number.
• Level 42, the name of a band.
• The Kumars at No. 42 TV series. In 2003, Sanjeev Bhaskar hosted a BBC show nominating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as Britain's Best Loved Book. During the show Bhaskar stated that the Kumars house number was in honour of the book.
• The inode number of the root directory of reiser4 file system.
• Appears as the number of hits on the hit counter at the bottom of a fake website for the show Arrested Development on FOX.
• One of the Hurley numbers in Lost.

It is also interesting to note that 47 shares 42's status as a cult figure integer, and tongue-n-cheek legends concerning these numbers are numerous.

In other fields

Forty-two is also:

• The atomic number of molybdenum.
• The number of teeth wolves and dogs (canines) have.
• The number of U.S. gallons of oil contained in one barrel of oil.
• The number of Laws of cricket.
• The age at which "The King" (Elvis Presley) died.
• In Lewis Carroll's book The Hunting of the Snark, the baker left 42 pieces of luggage on the pier. Lewis Carroll was strangely fascinated by this number. For more references, read The Annotated Alice.
• The sum of the numbers or spots on a pair of conventional (six-sided) dice.
• The name of a Texan trick-taking game played with dominoes (see 42 (dominoes)).
• The number of the French department Loire.
• The name of an equipment finance and lease management product built by Northern Arch.
• The minimum age one had to have to be elected a consul in the Roman Republic.
• The number of distinct types of cheese requested in Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch.
• The address of P. Sherman in the Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo is 42 Wallaby Way.
• The movement number of the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's Messiah.
• Part of the name of 42 BELOW, a vodka produced in New Zealand.
• The number of perfect squares formed by the grid at a 19x19 Go board, when the "squares" are slightly rectangular with the ratio 13/12, as required by tradition.
• The year A.D. 42, 42 BC, and 1942.
• The potion Juliet drank caused her to sleep for forty-two hours (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act IV, Scene 1, line 105).
• In Japanese, 4 (shi) and 2 (ni) are together pronounced like "going to death" (死に). Because of that, in Japan, 42 is considered as a disastrous number.
• Age (in years) of the horse that drove Mr. Pickwick to Golden Cross, as reported by a cabman (The Pickwick Papers, Chapter III).
• The jersey number of Jackie Robinson, which is retired by all Major League Baseball teams.
• The jersey number of Pat Tillman, which was retired on November 13, 2004 by Arizona State University.
• The jersey number of Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees closer.
• The approximate length of a Marathon race in km.
• The number of holes on a Connect Four game board.
• The number of stones each side has in the most common game type of Mancala with two rows of six pits with seven pieces in each pit.
• The number of legs on the Centipede in Roald Dahl's book James and the Giant Peach.
• The light leaving a Rainbow is spread over a wide angle, with a maximum intensity around 42°.
• The number of Landlocked countries on Earth.
• One of the 'numbers' on the TV show Lost, along with 4, 8, 15, 16 and 23.
• The percentage of the London Underground that is actually underground.

External Links

• 42 Explained