Here's something to celebrate about 8:
8 is a composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2, and 4. Eight is a power of two, being 2(3), or two cubed. Other than unity, 8 is the first cubed prime and has an aliquot sum of 7. All powers of 2 have an aliquot sum of one less than themselves. It is the first composite member of the 7-aliquot tree.
8 is the base of the octal number system, which is mostly used with computers. In octal, one digit represents 3 bits. In modern computers, a byte is a grouping of eight bits, also called an octet.
The number 8 is a Fibonacci number, being 3 plus 5. The next Fibonacci number is 13.
8 and 9 form a Ruth-Aaron pair under the second definition in which repeated prime factors are counted as often as they occur.
A polygon with eight sides is an octagon. Figurate numbers representing octagons (including eight) are called octagonal numbers. A polyhedron with eight faces is an octahedron.
Sphenic numbers always have exactly eight divisors.
8 is the dimension of the octonions and is the highest possible dimension of a normed division algebra.
The number 8 is involved with a number of interesting mathematical phenomena related to the notion of Bott periodicity. For example if (*images didn't paste) is the direct limit of the inclusions of real orthogonal groups then (*images didn't paste) . Clifford algebras also display a periodicity of 8. For example the algebra Cl(p + 8,q) is isomorphic to the algebra of 16 by 16 matrices with entries in Cl(p,q). We also see a period of 8 in the K theory of spheres and in the representation theory of the rotation groups, the latter giving rise to the 8 by 8 spinorial chessboard. All of these properties are closely related to the properties of the octonions.
The lowest dimensional even unimodular lattice is the 8-dimensional E8 lattice. Even positive definite unimodular lattice exist only in dimensions divisible by 8.
A figure 8 is the common name of a geometric shape, often used in the context of sports, such as skating
In binary code eight is 1000; in ternary code eight is 22; in quaternary numeral system code eight is 20; in quinary eight is 13; in senary eight is 12; in septenary eight is 11; in octal eight is 10; in novenary code and all codes above (such as decimal and hexadecimal) eight is 8.
A fallen or lying down 8 is used to represent infinity in mathematics. This interpretation of 8 may be related to the representation of the caduceus (where two snakes form several figure eights) as stability or balance of opposing forces.
Eight is the number of Thurston model geometries.
E8 has rank 8.
*to see the images that didn't paste go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_(number)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.. It's about learning to dance in the rain."
A Fibonacci number sounds like something a model would wear on the runway.
