56 (number) - Definition and Overview

56 (fifty-six) is the natural number following 55 and preceding 57.

In mathematics

56 is the sum of the first six triangular numbers (making it a tetrahedral number), as well as the sum of six consecutive primes (3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13 + 17). It is also a tetranacci number and a pronic number.

In science

• The atomic number of barium

In astronomy,

Messier object M56, a magnitude 9.5 globular cluster in the constellation Lyra

The New General Catalogue object (http://www.ngcic.org/) NGC 56, an unverified object in the constellation Pisces. NGC 76 does not appear to be a real object.

The Saros number (http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEsaros/SEsaros1-175.html) of the solar eclipse series which began on -1172 July 17 and ended on 144 September 15. The duration of Saros series 56 was 1316.2 years, and it contained 74 solar eclipses.

The Saros number (http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/LEsaros/LEsaros1-175.html) of the lunar eclipse series which began on -852 May 7 and ended on 428 June 13. The duration of Saros series 56 was 1280.1 years, and it contained 72 lunar eclipses.

In other fields

56 is also: .

• The number of men who signed the United States Declaration of Independence.
• The code for international direct dial phone calls to Chile.
• The maximum speed of analog data transmission over a POTS in the 20th century was 56kbps.
• The name of the town Fifty-Six, Arkansas.
• The number of men of Netophah at the Census of men of Israel upon return from exile (Holy Bible, Ezra 2:22).
• The year AD 56, 56 BC, or 1956, and thus the symbol of the anti-Soviet revolution in Hungary.
• In baseball, the number of consecutive games in which Joe DiMaggio had a base hit in 1941, still a record.

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