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pow()

The pow() CSS function is an exponential function that returns the value of a base raised to the power of a number.

The exp() function is a special case of pow() where the value of the base is the mathematical constant e.

Syntax

/* A <number> value */
width: calc(10px * pow(5, 2)); /* 10px * 25 = 250px */
width: calc(10px * pow(5, 3)); /* 10px * 125 = 1250px */
width: calc(10px * pow(2, 10)); /* 10px * 1024 = 10240px */

Parameters

The pow(base, number) function accepts two comma-separated values as its parameters.

base

A calculation that resolves to a <number>, representing the base.

number

A calculation that resolves to a <number>, representing the exponent.

Return value

Returns a <number> representing basenumber, that is, base raised to the power of number.

Formal syntax

<pow()> = 
pow( <calc-sum> , <calc-sum> )

<calc-sum> =
<calc-product> [ [ '+' | '-' ] <calc-product> ]*

<calc-product> =
<calc-value> [ [ '*' | '/' ] <calc-value> ]*

<calc-value> =
<number> |
<dimension> |
<percentage> |
<calc-constant> |
( <calc-sum> )

<calc-constant> =
e |
pi |
infinity |
-infinity |
NaN

Examples

Scale headings by fixed ratio

The pow() function can be useful for strategies like CSS Modular Scale, which relates all the font-sizes on a page to each other by a fixed ratio.

HTML

<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
<h4>Heading 4</h4>
<h5>Heading 5</h5>
<h6>Heading 6</h6>

CSS

h1 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, 4));
}
h2 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, 3));
}
h3 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, 2));
}
h4 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, 1));
}
h5 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, 0));
}
h6 {
  font-size: calc(1rem * pow(1.5, -1));
}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
pow No No 112 No No 15.4 No No 112 No 15.4 No

See also

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/pow