What is the mantissa?

The mantissa is the decimal fraction part of a logarithm that represents the significant digits of a number. It is the part to the right of the decimal point, and it ranges from 0 to 1. The value of the mantissa depends on the base of the logarithm and the number whose logarithm is being taken. In computing, the mantissa is often used to represent the fractional part of a floating-point number. It is also used in scientific notation to express very large or very small numbers. The mantissa is commonly denoted by the letter m, while the characteristic is denoted by the letter c in logarithmic notation.