The Scaling Constant

The number at the centre of LIFE is 1,099,511,627,776.

It is not arbitrary. It is not chosen for convenience. It emerges directly from the physics of wave mechanics and the measured properties of human perception.

It is 2⁴⁰.

Where it comes from

The audible frequency range runs from approximately 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz - a span of roughly ten octaves. The visible light spectrum runs from approximately 430 terahertz (red) to 770 terahertz (violet).

The gap between the top of the audible range and the bottom of the visible spectrum is approximately 40 octaves.

Because the relationship between octaves is a doubling of frequency - a ratio of 2:1 - the distance of 40 octaves is expressible as 2⁴⁰.