For example, 18 is practical because every smaller number can be written as a sum of its proper divisors, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, like 13=1+3+9.
Steward and SierpiĆski have characterized completely the set of
practical numbers as follows. A number , whose prime factorization
is
is a practical number if and only if
it is even (i.e.,
) and, for every
, it holds
The first practical numbers are 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 30, 32, 36, 40, 42, 48, 54, 56, 60, 64, 66, 72, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 96, 100, 104, 108, 112, 120, 126, 128, 132, 140, 144, 150, 156, 160 more terms
Below, the spiral pattern of practical numbers up to . See the page on prime numbers for an explanation and links to similar pictures.