Why can floating point store more values than integers?

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In a 32-bit floating point, it was said that the highest possible value is 3.4028235 x 10^38. However, when we evaluate this, it will be equal to 340282346638528860000000000000000000000. This whole number would require more than 100 integer bits right? My question is: If that is the case, how come this number requiring more than 100 bits fitted in a 32-bit floating point?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

The same way you were able to write 3.4028235 x 10^38 instead of 340282346638528860000000000000000000000, a floating point number stores both the first n digits of the number and the exponent, saving a ton of space. The exact way it does this is a bit complicated and I forget the details, but it’s explained well [here](https://youtu.be/dQhj5RGtag0) if you want to get into it

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