@property
def exponent(f):
    """
        Return the exponent as an integer.

        Convert the bits of the exponent part as if they are an
        unsigned integer:
        2^0 * bit_1 + 2^1 * bit_2 + 2^3 * bit_3 + ...
        """
    exponent = 0
    for bit, n in zip(f.exponent_bits, range(f.k)[::-1]):
        if bit:
            exponent += 2 ** n
    return exponent
