Science Fact Finder | Mathematics, Numbers, and Computers - What Is A Perfect Number?

What is a perfect number?

A perfect number is a number equal to the sum of all of its proper divisors. Proper divisors are all the divisors of a number with the exception of the number itself. The number 6 is the smallest perfect number; the sum of its divisors—1,2, and 3—equals 6. The next 3 perfect numbers are 28, 496, and 8,126. No odd perfect numbers are known. The highest established perfect number is: (2^859,433 -1) X 2^859,433.

Sources: Chambers Science and Technology Dictionary, p. 659; The Guinness Book of Records 1996, p. 73; McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, vol. 12, p. 241.

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