I've got an unusual problem with the ABS (absolute value) function in =
Excel 2002 SP 3 running on Windows XP Home SP 2.
A cell in my worksheet performs this simple calculation: =
ABS(SUM(E37:J37)-SUM(K37:M37)). The calculation should normally result =
in a value of zero. If the calculation results in anything other than =
zero, my worksheet will alert me to that fact.
Something funny was going on. The cell was showing a value of zero, but =
my worksheet was still alerting me that the cell was something other =
than zero.
From Tools > Formula Auditing > Evaluate Formula I made this startling =
discovery:
The calculation evaluates to: ABS(12,182.23 - 12,182.23), which in turn =
does NOT evaluate to ABS(0). Instead, it evaluates to =
ABS(-1.81898940354586E-12)!
What the...where did -1.81898940354586E-12 come from? Have I done =
something wrong?
Steven
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