16 (sixteen) is the
natural number following
15 and preceding
17. 16 is a
composite number, and a
square number, being
42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five
divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .
In English speech, the numbers 16 and
60 are sometimes confused, as they sound very similar.
Sixteen is the fourth
power of two. For this reason, 16 was used in weighing light objects in several cultures. The British have 16 ounces in one pound; the Chinese used to have 16 ''liangs'' in one ''jin''. In old days, weighing was done with a beam balance to make equal splits. It would be easier to split a heap of grains into sixteen equal parts through successive divisions than to split into ten parts. Chinese Taoists did finger computation on the trigrams and hexagrams by counting the finger tips and joints of the fingers with the tip of the thumb. Each hand can count up to 16 in such manner. The Chinese abacus uses two upper beads to represent the 5s and 5 lower beads to represent the 1s, the 7 beads can represent a hexadecimal digit from 0 to 15 in each column.
Mathematics
Sixteen is an
even
Even may refer to:
General
* Even (given name), a Norwegian male personal name
* Even (surname)
* Even (people), an ethnic group from Siberia and Russian Far East
**Even language, a language spoken by the Evens
* Odd and Even, a solitaire game wh ...
number and a square of four.
Sixteen is the fourth power of two.
Sixteen is the only integer that
equals ''m''''n'' and ''n''''m'', for some unequal integers ''m'' and ''n'' (''m'' = 4, ''n'' = 2, or vice versa). It has this property because 2
2 = 2 × 2. It is also equal to
32 (see
tetration
In mathematics, tetration (or hyper-4) is an operation based on iterated, or repeated, exponentiation. There is no standard notation for tetration, though \uparrow \uparrow and the left-exponent ''xb'' are common.
Under the definition as r ...
).
Sixteen is the base of the
hexadecimal number system, which is used extensively in
computer science.
Sixteen is the largest known integer n for which 2
n+1 is prime.
It is first
Erdős–Woods number In number theory, a positive integer is said to be an Erdős–Woods number if it has the following property:
there exists a positive integer such that in the sequence of consecutive integers, each of the elements has a non-trivial common factor ...
.
There are 16 partially ordered sets with 4 unlabeled elements.
Science
* The
atomic number
The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of an atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every ...
of
sulfur
*
Group 16
The chalcogens (ore forming) ( ) are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. Group 16 consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the radioac ...
of the
periodic table
The periodic table, also known as the periodic table of the (chemical) elements, is a rows and columns arrangement of the chemical elements. It is widely used in chemistry, physics, and other sciences, and is generally seen as an icon of ch ...
are the
chalcogens
The chalcogens (ore forming) ( ) are the chemical elements in group 16 of the periodic table. This group is also known as the oxygen family. Group 16 consists of the elements oxygen (O), sulfur (S), selenium (Se), tellurium (Te), and the radioact ...
In technology
* In some
computer programming languages, the size in bits of certain data types
*
16-bit computing
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...
* A 16-bit integer can represent up to
65,536
65536 is the natural number following 65535 and preceding 65537.
65536 is a power of two: 2^ (2 to the 16th power).
65536 is the smallest number with ''exactly'' 17 divisors.
In mathematics
65536 is 2^, so in tetration notation 65536 is&nbs ...
values.
Religion
Hinduism
*Saint
Markandeya
Bhargava Markandeya ( sa, मार्कण्डेय ) is an ancient rishi (sage) born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi (Bhargava Brahmins Community). The Markandeya Purana especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage call ...
is said to have been granted to live to 16 years of age. When he turned sixteen, the god of death,
Yama
Yama (Devanagari: यम) or Yamarāja (यमराज), is a deity of death, dharma, the south direction, and the underworld who predominantly features in Hindu and Buddhist religion, belonging to an early stratum of Rigvedic Hindu deities. ...
, came to look for him and fastened a noose around the saint. The saint hugged the idol of lord
Shiva that he worshipped (which can be still found in the
Amritaghateswarar-Abirami Temple in
Thirukkadaiyur
Thirukkadaiyur (Thirukadavur) is a village on the east coast of Tamil Nadu, about 300 km south of Chennai and 15 km north of Karaikal. The history of the village is associated with the legends of Markandeya and Abirami Pattar. The vi ...
,
Tamil Nadu,
India.) As the noose was wrapped around both the saint and lord Shiva, this made the lord angry and he appeared in his fierce form and vanquished the lord of death, causing a brief catastrophe in the world where no one died. Eventually, lord Yama was revived and the saint
Markandeya
Bhargava Markandeya ( sa, मार्कण्डेय ) is an ancient rishi (sage) born in the clan of Bhrigu Rishi (Bhargava Brahmins Community). The Markandeya Purana especially, comprises a dialogue between Markandeya and a sage call ...
was made immortal to be of age sixteen forever.
Languages
Grammar
In Spanish and Portuguese, 16 is the first compound number (Spanish: ''dieciséis'', European Portuguese: ''dezasseis'', Brazilian Portuguese: ''dezesseis''); the numbers 11 (Spanish: ''once'', Portuguese: ''onze'') through 15 (Spanish: ''quince'', Portuguese: ''quinze'') have their own names.
Age 16
* Sixteen is the minimum age for being allowed an official beginner's
driver's license
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
with parental consent in many
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
states and in
Canada. In
Australia,
Iceland,
New Zealand,
Norway,
South Africa, and the
Isle of Man, it is the age one can begin to get a learner's
license.
* A "
sweet sixteen" is celebrated by many sixteen-year-old girls in the
United States. It is a
coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...
celebration that traditionally marks a girl's transition into womanhood.
* 16 is the minimum age that one can leave school in many states of the United States and Canada (however, restrictions apply and vary depending on state or province).
* In the United States, sixteen-year-old girls earn the right to privacy laws surrounding
OBGYN
Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
practices
* In the United States and Canada, 16 is the most common
age of sexual consent
Age or AGE may refer to:
Time and its effects
* Age, the amount of time someone or something has been alive or has existed
** East Asian age reckoning, an Asian system of marking age starting at 1
* Ageing or aging, the process of becoming olde ...
, as well as the age in the United Kingdom.
* Sixteen is the minimum age to get married with parental consent in many countries, and without parental consent in
Scotland.
* Sixteen is the
legal drinking age
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...
in
Germany,
Belgium,
Switzerland,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
and
Portugal.
* Minimum age at which one can buy, rent, purchase, buy tickets to, or view a 16+ rated film in the Canadian province of Quebec. It is also the minimum age at which one can accompany a minor under-13 while buying, renting, or purchasing tickets to a 13+ rated movie in the province of Quebec.
* Minimum age at which one can donate blood (with parental consent) in many U.S. states
* Minimum age at which one can obtain an adult passport (which lasts ten years) in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
* Minimum age at which one can join the
Armed Forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
in the
United Kingdom.
* Sixteen is the voting age in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...
,
Brazil,
Cuba,
Ecuador, the
Isle of Man, and
Nicaragua.
* Sixteen is the
age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contro ...
in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
,
Cuba,
Kyrgyzstan, and
Vietnam.
In sports
Many leagues and tournaments have 16 teams or individual participants, for example:
*
FIFA World Cup finals from 1934 through 1978 (although for various reasons, only 15 competed in the 1938 and 1950 finals)
*
FIFA World Cup knockout phase since 1986.
*
FIFA Women's World Cup finals from 1999 through 2011
* The season-ending
playoffs in the
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971 ...
* The
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
of
Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012
In both the
NBA and
NHL, 16 teams qualify for the respective league playoffs; it is also the number of wins needed to win the title (both leagues have four playoff rounds, with four wins in seven games needed to win each round).
In
AFL Women's
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 1 ...
, the top-level league of
women's Australian rules football
Women's Australian rules football (in areas where it is popular, known simply as women's football or women's footy or women's AFL), is the female-only form of Australian rules football, generally with some modification to the laws of the game.
...
, each team has 16 players on the field at any given time (as opposed to the 18 of almost all other competitions in the sport, most notably the parent
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...
for men).
In other fields
* 16 steps make up the average bar of music in a 4/4 musical arrangement. The
Roland TR-808, for instance, has 16 buttons that light up representing 16 16th notes making up a drum pattern.
*
Sixteen, Kentucky
Sixteen is an unincorporated community within Perry County, Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States and one of t ...
, a community in the United States
* King of France (August 1754 – 21 January 1793)
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
* There are 16
ounce
The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...
s in an
avoirdupois
The avoirdupois system (; abbreviated avdp.) is a measurement system of weights that uses pounds and ounces as units. It was first commonly used in the 13th century AD and was updated in 1959.
In 1959, by international agreement, the defini ...
pound
* There are 16
pawns in a
chess set and each player in a
chess game starts with sixteen pieces
*
The Sixteen
The Sixteen are a United Kingdom-based choir and period instrument orchestra; founded by Harry Christophers, they started as an unnamed group of sixteen friends in 1977, giving their first billed concert in 1979.
The group performs early Eng ...
is an English choir performing early religious music
*In the video game ''
No Man's Sky'', 16 is central to the plot as it is the number of minutes before the Atlas simulation resets.
*
Sixteen is a Polish band that represented
Poland in the
1998 Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaste ...
* The
Cadillac Sixteen
The Cadillac Sixteen is a concept car first developed and presented by Cadillac in 2003.
The vehicle is equipped with a Cadillac proprietary-developed aluminum 32-valve V16 engine displacing 13.6 liters (829 cu. in; 13,584 cc), which was exclu ...
* There are 16 different personality types in the
Myers-Briggs classification system
* A note played for one-sixteenth the duration of a
whole note is called a
sixteenth note or a semiquaver
* In the
16-bit era
In the history of video games, the fourth generation of game consoles, more commonly referred to as the 16-bit era, began on October 30, 1987, with the Japanese release of NEC Home Electronics' PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx-16 in North Ame ...
,
16-bit
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...
microprocessor ran
16-bit application
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two m ...
s
*
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...
, part of
Chinese history
* The fighter jet, the
F-16 Fighting Falcon
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...
*
16 mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, educ ...
film was originally an amateur
movie format, but is now used by professionals
* "
16" is a song by American band
Green Day
* The
M16 rifle
* The number 16 is the symbol of the
Day of solidarity with political prisoners and victims of the Lukashenka regime in Belarus, which is commemorated on 16th of every months by demonstrations and flash mobs worldwide
* A sixteen is a slang term for a verse in a hip hop song, which are often written in 16-
bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages
* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar ( ...
stanzas.
*
Android 16
The is a fictional group of characters featured in Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' anime and manga series. The many operatives of the Red Ribbon Army, led by , serve as opponents for series protagonist Goku during his second quest for the Drago ...
, a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' manga and anime series
* The amount of waking hours in a day in an "8 hours of sleep" schedule
* In the story of the
Sleeping Beauty to Walt Disney, a spell is placed on the princess Aurora that when she reaches her 16th birthday, she will "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die"
* 16 is the number of the French department
Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, a ...
* Many
bank card number
A payment card number, primary account number (PAN), or simply a card number, is the card identifier found on payment cards, such as credit cards and debit cards, as well as stored-value cards, gift cards and other similar cards. In some situatio ...
s are 16 digits long
* There is a
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1986. For most of their career, the band has consisted of vocalist Gwen Stefani, guitarist Tom Dumont, bassist Tony Kanal, and drummer Adrian Young. Since the mid-1990s, th ...
song titled "Sixteen" on the album ''
Tragic Kingdom
''Tragic Kingdom'' is the third studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on October 10, 1995, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. It was the final album to feature original keyboardist Eric Stefani, who left the band in 1994. Th ...
''
* The
metalcore band
Demon Hunter has a song titled "Sixteen" on their ''
Storm the Gates of Hell'' album
* In
Belgium, 16 is colloquially used to refer to the Belgian government or Prime Minister, especially in media, because of the official seat of the Belgian federal government being located on 16, rue de la Loi in Brussels. The full address is also sometimes used, in a similar way as 10, Downing Street in England.
* The number of rays in the
Vergina Sun
The Vergina Sun ( el, Ήλιος της Βεργίνας, Ilios tis Vergínas, Sun of Vergina), also known as the Star of Vergina, Vergina Star or Argead Star, is a rayed solar symbol first appearing in ancient Greek art of the period between t ...
, symbol by Philip's Argead dynasty, possible religious symbol representing the Olympian gods.
* There are sixteen petals on the
Imperial Seal of Japan
The Imperial Seal of Japan or National Seal of Japan, also called the , or , is one of the national seals and a crest (''mon'') used by the Emperor of Japan and members of the Imperial Family. It is a contrast to the Paulownia Seal used by the ...
.
* There were sixteen lands created by Ahura Mazda, according to
Avestan geography
Avestan geography refers to the investigation of place names in the Avesta and the attempt to connect them to real-world geographical sites. It is therefore different from the cosmogony expressed in the Avesta, where place names refer to mythical ...
, which were then followed by sixteen negative counter-creations of Angra Mainyu.
References
External links
*
{{Integers, zero
Integers