Compute base raised to any power, including negative and fractional exponents.
A negative base raised to a non-integer exponent (like a fraction) isn't a real number — only a complex one — so the calculator reports it as invalid rather than showing a wrong result.
A negative exponent gives the reciprocal: base^(−n) = 1 / base^n. The calculator shows this as the "base^−exponent" inverse operation alongside the main result.
It reverses the exponent: taking the exponent-th root of the result should bring you back to the original base, which is a quick way to sanity-check the calculation.