by Guest » Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:21 am
The links above explain scientific notation well, but not the "E" form.
In scientific notation, the elements are a number, multiplied by 10 raised to some power. Many computer (and calculator) displays and keyboards can't handle the superscripts well, and the 10 is extra characters, so the use the "E" form in which the power of ten is separated from the number by E, and the 10 isn't shown at all:
620 = 6.2 x 10² = 6.2E02
it is just a shorthand for writing in limited character set.