Definitions for magic number
mag·ic num·ber

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. magic numbernoun

   the atomic number of an extra stable strongly bound atomic nucleus: 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 or 126

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. magic numbernoun

   the number of neutrons or protons in nuclei which are required to fill the major quantum shells, and thus produce exceptionally stable nuclei - 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82 & 126

2. magic numbernoun

   A metric used to determine a team's required performance to make the playoffs.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. magic number

   A magic number is a specific, unexplained, or unique numerical value that appears directly in a program's source code. These numbers can be considered to be a secret piece of knowledge that is not directly explained or obvious to a reader or user. It can be a direct numeric or text value or a specific constant used in algorithms, programming logic, or system functionality. Using magic numbers is generally discouraged in programming due to its negative impact on code readability and maintainability.

WikidataRate this definition:1.5 / 2 votes

1. Magic number

   In nuclear physics, a magic number is a number of nucleons such that they are arranged into complete shells within the atomic nucleus. The seven most widely recognised magic numbers as of 2007 are 2, 8, 20, 28, 50, 82, and 126. Atomic nuclei consisting of such a magic number of nucleons have a higher average binding energy per nucleon than one would expect based upon predictions such as the semi-empirical mass formula and are hence more stable against nuclear decay. The unusual stability of isotopes having magic numbers means that transuranium elements can be created with extremely large nuclei and yet not be subject to the extremely rapid radioactive decay normally associated with high atomic numbers. Large isotopes with magic numbers of nucleons are said to exist in an island of stability. Unlike the magic numbers 2–126, which are realized in spherical nuclei, theoretical calculations predict that nuclei in the island of stability are deformed. Before this was realized, higher magic numbers, such as 184 and 258, were predicted based on simple calculations that assumed spherical shapes. It is now believed that the sequence of spherical magic numbers cannot be extended in this way.

The New Hacker's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. magic number

   [Unix/C; common] 1. In source code, some non-obvious constant whose value is significant to the operation of a program and that is inserted inconspicuously in-line (hardcoded), rather than expanded in by a symbol set by a commented #define. Magic numbers in this sense are bad style. 2. A number that encodes critical information used in an algorithm in some opaque way. The classic examples of these are the numbers used in hash or CRC functions, or the coefficients in a linear congruential generator for pseudo-random numbers. This sense actually predates and was ancestral to the more common sense 3. Special data located at the beginning of a binary data file to indicate its type to a utility. Under Unix, the system and various applications programs (especially the linker) distinguish between types of executable file by looking for a magic number. Once upon a time, these magic numbers were PDP-11 branch instructions that skipped over header data to the start of executable code; 0407, for example, was octal for ‘branch 16 bytes relative’. Many other kinds of files now have magic numbers somewhere; some magic numbers are, in fact, strings, like the !<arch> at the beginning of a Unix archive file or the %! leading PostScript files. Nowadays only a wizard knows the spells to create magic numbers. How do you choose a fresh magic number of your own? Simple — you pick one at random. See? It's magic! 4. An input that leads to a computational boundary condition, where algorithm behavior becomes discontinuous. Numeric overflows (particularly with signed data types) and run-time errors (divide by zero, stack overflows) are indications of magic numbers. The Y2K scare was probably the most notorious magic number non-incident.The magic number, on the other hand, is 7±2. See The magical number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information by George Miller, in the Psychological Review 63:81-97 (1956). This classic paper established the number of distinct items (such as numeric digits) that humans can hold in short-term memory. Among other things, this strongly influenced the interface design of the phone system.

Matched Categories

1. • Atomic Number

How to pronounce magic number?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say magic number in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of magic number in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of magic number in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of magic number in a Sentence

1. Adrien Giraud:

   Although the Commission will probably reiterate that there is no magic number and that every case needs to be assessed on its own merits, this will undoubtedly chill consolidation efforts in the telecoms industry and in particular every planned so-called four-to-three case, convergence therefore seems to be the only way forward for consolidation.

2. Bernie Sanders:

   To run a credible campaign in this day and age, you do need a whole lot of money, whether the magic number is $200 million, it is $150 million, it is a lot of money, but even with that, you would be enormously outspent by the Koch Brother candidates and the other candidates who will likely spend, in the final analysis, over $1 billion, if not two.

3. John Cornyn:

   I don't know what the magic number is. But it's not zero and it's not $ 3 trillion.

4. Bernie Sanders:

   To run a credible campaign in this day and age, you do need a whole lot of money, whether the magic number is $200 million, it is $150 million, it is a lot of money, but even with that, you would be enormously outspent by the Koch Brothers candidates and the other candidates who will likely spend, in the final analysis, over $1 billion, if not two.

5. Jose Altuve:

   That’s pretty good, but we’re just trying to win, we’re not quite paying attention to the magic number just yet. We have 11 more games, and we’re trying to win them all and see what happens next.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=magic number
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Magic_Number
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=magic number
5. ^ The New Hacker's Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#MagicNumber